Annals of the kingdom of Ireland

COLONEL- MALCOLM •

OF POLTALLOCH •

CAMPBELL
COLLECTION

v

/

A

Rioghachca emeaNN.

ANNALS

OP

THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND,

BY THE FOUR MASTERS,

FROM

THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE YEAR 1616.

EDITED PROM KSS. IN IKE LIBRAE! OP THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY AND OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, WITH

A TRANSLATION, AND COPIOUS NOTES,

BY JOHN O'DONOVAN, LLD., M.RI.A.,

BAEEISTEE AT LAW.

"Olim Kegibui panbant, none per Prindpes factionibos et studiis trahnntur : nee alind adversus validiirimaa gentes
pro nob'a utilius. quam quod in commune non consulont. Rams doabos tribusve cmtatibos ad propnlsandnm commune
periculum conventus •. ita dam singuli pagnant turn-era vincnntnr." — TACITUS, AGBICOLA, c. 12.

SECOND EDITION.

VOL. I.

DUBLIN:
HODGES, SMITH, AND CO., GRAFTON-STREET.

BOOKSELLERS TO THE UNIYEBSITT.

1856.

DUBLIN :

ISrtnUB at 0>e antOergitj

BY M. H. GILL.

TO

?.<:<;
THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF KILDARE, M.P., M.E.I.A.,

THE BIGHT HONOURABLE THE EAEL OF DUNEAVEN, M. R. I. A.,

THE REV. JAMES HENTHOEN TODD, D.D., S.F.T.C.D., M.E.I.A.,

GEORGE PETEIE, ESQ,, LL.D., Y.P.E.I.A., &R.H.A.,

AND

JAMES HAEDIMAN, ESQ., M.R.I.A.

MY LORDS AND SIRS,

When Brother Michael O'Clery, the chief of the Four
Masters, had finished the Annals of Ireland, he dedicated the work to
Farrell O'Gara, chief of Coolavin, there being no O'Donnell in the
country to patronize his labours ; and he adds, that his having done
so should not excite jealousy or envy in the mind of any one, con-
sidering the nobleness of the race from which O'Gara was sprung,
and that it was he that rewarded the Chroniclers who assisted in the
compilation.

From the first moment that I undertook the present work, I had
it in contemplation to dedicate it to some persons who had eminently
distinguished themselves by their exertions in promoting the study
of Irish History and Antiquities ; and I feel confident that, although

a

vi DEDICATION.

there are living at the present day many of the ancient Irish, as well
as of the Anglo-Irish race, illustrious for their birth, talents, and
patriotism, it will excite neither jealousy nor envy in any of them
that I should commit this work to the world under your names ;
for you have stood prominently forward to promote the cause of an-
cient Irish literature, at a period when it had fallen into almost
utter neglect, and have succeeded in rescuing a very considerable
portion of our history and antiquities from the obscurity and oblivion
to which they had been for some time consigned.

Permit me, then, to dedicate this work to you, that, as the Editor
of the Annals of the Four Masters, I may be known to posterity as
one who enjoyed your friendship, and felt grateful for the services
you have rendered to Ireland.

Your obedient, humble Servant,

JOHN O'DONOVAN.

8, NEWCOMEN PLACE, NORTH STRAND, DUBLIN,
June 2ND, 1851.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

J.HE first part of the following Annals, ending with the year 1171,
has already been printed by Dr. O'Conor, from the autograph original,
which was preserved among the manuscripts of the Duke of Bucking-
ham, at Stowe. His text, however, is full of errors ; it is printed in
the Italic character, and the contractions of the manuscript, which
in many places Dr. O'Conor evidently misunderstood, are allowed to
remain, although without any attempt to represent them by a pecu-
liar type. There are also many serious errors and defects in his Latin
translation, arising partly from the cause just alluded to, but chiefly
from ignorance of Irish topography and geography.

These defects the Editor has endeavoured to correct. He has
adopted Dr. O'Conor's text in the portion of the Annals to which it
extends, but, not having had access to the original manuscript, he has
corrected the errors with which it abounds by a collation of it with
two manuscripts preserved in Dublin. The first of these is in the
Library of Trinity College, and was made for Dr. John Fergus, of
Dublin, in the year 1734-5*. It professes to have been transcribed

• This manuscript, which is in a large, strong, caip TTlicel O'CUipij a ^Conuene t>hum na

and good hand, is entitled thus : " Qnnala na njall DO pheapjal O'^uopa, -| ap na acpjpfo-

cCeicpe TTIaijipcip o'n bliaoam oaoir- DO- b'ao ap an leaBap cdaona oo Shean O'pepjupa

main oa riiile t>a ceo cearpacac a oo, jup an a mbaile Qca cliac, 1734-5," — *• e- "Annals

tnbliabain oaoip Cpiopc mile c6o peaccmojae of the Four Masters, from the year of the age of

a haon ap na pjpfobao ap cup lap an mbpd- the world two thousand two hundred and forty-

viii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

from the autograph of the Four Masters, then in the possession of
Charles O'Conor of Belanagare, by Hugh O'Molloy, who was an excel-
lent and well qualified scribe. The other is in the Library of the
Royal Irish Academy, and was also made at Belanagare, under the
inspection of Charles O'Conor, and by his own scribe. These manu-
scripts, are, therefore, both of them, in all probability, copies of the
same autograph original from which Dr. O'Conor, in the third volume
of the Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores, has derived his text ; and they
have enabled the Editor to correct many errors, both in the Irish and
in the translation.

The text of the remaining portion of the Annals, extending from
the year 1172 to 1616, has been, for the first time, printed in this
publication. It is derived from the autograph manuscript preserved
in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, compared with another
autograph copy in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. The
former manuscript was purchased at the sale of the late Mr. Austin
Cooper, by George Petrie, Esq., LL.D., and by him deposited in the
Library of the Academy. The Editor cannot give a better account of
this important manuscript than in the words of Dr. Petrie, by whose
permission he reprints here the paper read by that gentleman to the
Academy.

" TO THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBEES OF THE KOYAL IRISH ACADEMY.

" MY LORD AND GENTLEMEN,— Having recently had the good fortune to
obtain for the Eoyal Irish Academy the most important remain of our ancient
literature, the original autograph of a portion of the first part or volume, and
the whole of the second volume of the work usually designated the Annals of
the Four Masters, I feel it incumbent on me to lay before you a statement of
the proofs of its authenticity, together with such circumstances connected with
its history, as have hitherto come within my knowledge.

two to the year of the Age of Christ one thou- of Donegal, for Fearghal O'Gadhra, and tran-
*and one hundred and seventy-one, written first scribed from the same book for John O'Fergusa
by the Friar Michael O'Clery, in the convent in Dublin 1734-5 »

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. ix

" With regard, in the first place, to our acquisition being the undoubted
autograph original of this most invaluable work, it is to be observed that the
manuscript itself furnishes the most satisfactory internal evidences for such a
conclusion, evidences even more decisive than those which have been brought
forward in support of the autograph originality of the first part, now the chief
treasure of the magnificent library of his Grace the Duke of Buckingham, and
which has recently been published through the munificence of that patriotic
nobleman.

" In the front of these evidences we find the dedication of the whole work
to Fergal O'Gara, Lord of Moy O'Gara and Coolavin, in the county of Sligo,
the chieftain under whose patronage, and for whose use, the Annals were com-
piled ; and this dedication, not a copy in the hand of an ordinary scribe, but
committed to the peculiar durability of parchment, and wholly in the hand-
writing and signed with the proper signature of Michael O'Clery, the chief of
the Four Masters who were employed in its compilation. As this dedication
throws much light on the history of the work, and has not been hitherto pub-
lished entire, I shall take leave to introduce it here, as literally translated by
the venerable Charles O'Conor :

" ' I invoke the Almighty God, that he may pour down every blessing,
corporal and spiritual, on Ferall O'Gara, Tiern (Lord) of Moy O'Gara and
Culavinne, one of the two knights elected to represent the county of Sligo in
the Parliament held in Dublin, this present year of our Lord, 1634.

" ' In every country enlightened by civilization, and confirmed therein
through a succession of ages, it has been customary to record the events pro-
duced by time. For sundry reasons, nothing was deemed more profitable or
honourable than to study and peruse the works of ancient writers, who gave a
faithful account of the great men who figured on the stage of life in preceding
ages, that posterity might be informed, how their forefathers have employed
their time, how long they continued in power, and how they have finished
their days.

" ' I, Michael O'Clery, brother of the Order of St. Francis (through ten
years employed under obedience to my several provincials in collecting mate-
rials for our Irish Hagiology), have waited on you, noble Ferall O'Gara, as I
was well acquainted with your zeal for the glory of God, and the credit of

b

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

your country. I perceived the anxiety you suffer from the cloud which at
present han<m over our ancient Milesian race ; a state of things which has
occasioned the ignorance of many, relative to the lives of the holy men, who,
in former times, have been the ornaments of our island ; the general ignorance
also of our civil history, and of the monarchs, provincial kings, tigherns (lords),
and toisachs (chieftains), who flourished in this country through a succession
of ages, with equal want of knowledge in the synchronism necessary for
throwing light on the transactions of each. In your uneasiness on this subject
I have informed you, that I entertained -hopes of joining to my own labours
the assistance of the antiquarians I held most in esteem, for compiling a body
of Annals, wherein those matters should be digested under their proper heads ;
judging that should such a compilation be neglected at present, or consigned
to a future time, a risk might be run that the materials for it should never
again be brought together. In this idea I have collected the most authentic
Annals I could find in my travels through the kingdom (and, indeed, the task
was difficult). Such as I have obtained are arranged in a continued series,
and I commit them to the world under your name, noble O'Gara, who stood
forward in patronising this undertaking ; you it was who set the antiquarians
to work, and most liberally paid them for their labour, in arranging and tran-
scribing the documents before them, in the convent of Dunagall, where the
Fathers of that house supplied them with the necessary refreshments. In
truth every benefit derivable from our labours is due to your protection and
bounty ; nor should it excite jealousy or envy that you stand foremost in this
as in other services you have rendered your country ; for by your birth you
are a descendant of the race of Heber, which gave Ireland thirty monarchs,
and sixty-one of which race have died in the odour of sanctity. Eighteen of
those holy men are. traced to your great ancestor Teig, the son of Kian, and
grandson of the celebrated Olioll-Olam, who died King of Munster, A. D. 260.
The posterity of that Teig have had great establishments in every part of
Ireland, viz. : the race of Cormac Galeng, in Leyny of Conaght, from whom
you are descended, as well as the O'Haras of the same Leyny, and the O'Haras
of the Rout ; the O'Carrolls also of Ely, and the O'Conors of Kianachta Glen-
gevin, in Ulster. In proof of your noble extraction, here follows your genealogy.
" ' Ferall O'Gara, thou art the son of Teig, &c. &c.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xi

" ' On the 22nd January, 1632, this work was undertaken in the convent of
Dunagall, and was finished in the same convent on the 10th of August, 1636.

" ' I am thine most affectionately,

" ' BROTHER MICHAEL O'CLERY.'

" Immediately following this dedication we are presented with the original
certificate or testimonium of the superiors of the Franciscan convent of Dunagal,
in which the Annals were compiled, signed with their autograph signatures, as
on the said 10th of August, 1636. This, too, is written on parchment, and has
also affixed to it the signature of O'Donell, Prince of Tirconnell"b [recte, Brother
Bonaventure O'Donnell Jubilate Reader] ; " and while I feel it necessary to my
purpose to transcribe this testimonium (which I also give in the translation of
Mr. O'Conor), I beg that those interested in the question will observe how
considerably it differs in its wording from that prefixed to the Stowe Manu-
script, and how far more copious it is in its information relative to the sources
from which the work was compiled.

" ' The Fathers of the Franciscan Order, subscribers hereunto, do certify
that Ferall O'Gara was the nobleman who prevailed on Brother Michael O'Clery
to bring together the antiquaries and chronologers, who compiled the following
Annals (such as it was in their power to collect), and that Ferall O'Gara afore-
said rewarded them liberally for their labour.

" ' This collection is divided into two parts, and from the beginning to the
end has been transcribed in the convent of the brothers of Dunagall, who sup-
plied the transcribers with the necessary viands. The first volume was begun
in the same convent, A. D. 1632, when Father Bernardin O'Clery was guardian
thereof.

" ' The antiquaries and chronologers who were the collectors and transcri-
bers of this work we attest to be Brother Michael O'Clery ; Maurice O'Maol-

b Prince of Tirconndl. — In consequence of the O'Conor. When Dr. Petrie bought the manu-

time-stained condition of this piece of parchment script, it was a mere unbound roll ; its margins

when Dr. Petrie's paper was written, it was not worn away by damp. It has been since restored,

easy to decipher these words, and it was, there- under Dr. Petrie's direction; and the manuscript,

fore, very natural that he should rely on the bound in whole Russia, is now in a state of per-

authority of the venerable Charles O'Conor of feet beauty, as well as in a condition to bid defi-

Belanagare, and that of his grandson, Dr. Charles ance to the hand of time for centuries ED.

b2

Xll

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

conary, the son of Torna, who assisted during a month ; Fergus 0 Maolconary
the son of Lochlan also, and both those antiquaries were of the county c
Roscommon ; Cucogry O'Clery, another assistant, was of the county of Dunagall,
as was Cucogry O'Duigenan, of the county of Leitrim ; Conary 0 Clery, like-
wise of the county of Dunagall.

« ' The old books they collected were the Annals of Clonmacnoise, an abbey
founded by holy Kiaran, son of the Carpenter ; the Annals of the Island of
Saints on the Lake of Rive ; the Annals of Senat Mac Magnus, on the Lake
of Erne (now called the Ulster Annals); the Annals of the O'Maolconarys ;
the Annals of Kilronan, compiled by the O'Duigenans. These antiquarians had
also procured the Annals of Lacan, compiled by the Mac Firbisses (after tran-
scribing the greater part of the first volume), and from those Lacan Annals
they supplied what they thought proper in the blanks they left for any occasional
information they could obtain. The Annals of Clonmacnoise, and those of the
Island of Saints, came down no farther than the year of our Lord 1227.

" ' The second part of this work commences with the year of our Lord
1208 ; and began to be transcribed in the present year, 1635, when Father
Christopher Dunlevy was guardian ; and these Annals were continued down
to the year 1608, when Father Bernardin O'Clery was, for the second time,
elected Guardian.

" ' Brother Michael O'Clery above mentioned, Cucogry O'Clery, and Conary
O'Clery, have been the transcribers .of the Annals from 1332 to 1608. The
books from which they transcribed have been the greater part of O'Maolconary's
book, ending with the year 1505 ; the book of the O'Duigenans aforesaid, from
the year 900 to 1563 ; the book of Senate Mac Magnus, ending with 1532 ; a
part also of the book of Cucogry, the son of Dermot O'Clery, from the year
1281 to 1537 ; the book likewise of Maolin og Mac Bruodin, from the year
1588 to 1603 ; the book, moreover, of Lugad O'Clery, from 1586 to 1602. All
those books we have seen in the hands of the antiquaries, who have been the
compilers of the present work, together with other documents, too many to be
mentioned. In proof of what we have here set forth, we have hereunto annexed
our manual signatures, in the convent of Dunagall, August the 10th, 1636.

Signed, " ' BERNARDINUS O'CLERY, Guardianus, Dungallensis.

" ' BROTHER MAURICE DUULEVY, $c. #c.'

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

" Before we proceed further, let us reflect for a moment on the matter fur-
nished by those interesting documents, to which the writers were so anxious
to give all possible durability. How prophetic were the just apprehensions of
that chief compiler, ' that if the work were then neglected, or consigned to a
future time, a risk might be run that the materials for it should never again be
brought together.' Such, indeed, would have been the sad result. Those fearful
predictions were made on the very eve of that awful rebellion which caused a
revolution of property, and an extent of human affliction, such, perhaps, as no
other country ever experienced. In that unhappy period, nearly all the original
materials of this compilation probably perished, for one or two of them only
have survived to our times. Even this careful transcript was supposed to have
shared the same fate, and its recent discovery may be considered as the result
of a chance almost miraculous ! What a solemn lesson, then, is here given us
of the necessity of giving durability, while yet in our power, to the surviving
historical remains of our country, and thereby placing them beyond the reach
of a fate otherwise almost inevitable. To me it appears a sacred duty on cul-
tivated minds to do so. Had this compilation been neglected, or had it, as
was supposed, shared the fate of its predecessors, what a large portion of our
history would have been lost to the world for ever !

" But to proceed. It is to be most pertinently observed, that, from the above
testimonium, it appears that, in the original manuscripts, the writers left blanks
for the purpose of inserting subsequently any occasional information they might
obtain ; and by a reference to the manuscript now under consideration, it will
be found that such blanks have been frequently filled up in various parts of the
volume.

" Secondly, — We learn from this testimonium, that, contrary to the opinion
of Doctor O'Conor and others who have written on the subject, the second
part or volume commenced, not, as they state, with the year 1172, but with the
year 1208. So we find it is in our manuscript, in which the period from 1170
to 1208 is substantially divided from the subsequent annals, not only by the
aforesaid dedication and testimonium, but also by a heading prefixed as to the
commencement of the second volume.

' Thirdly, — The testimonium states that Michael O'Clery, Cucogry O'Clery,
and Conary O'Clery, were the transcribers of the Annals from the year 1332

xiv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

to the year 1608 ; and by a reference to our manuscript we shall find, not only
that the writing of those three scribes is strongly marked by their individual
characteristics, but also be able, by a comparison with any of our own manu-
scripts, in the handwriting of Cucogry O'Clery, to ascertain what portions of
the Annals were so written by that admirable scribe.

" I have to add to these evidences another of yet greater importance, namely,
that a great number of loose leaves accompany the volume, which, on exami-
nation, prove to be the first extracts from the original ancient documents, copied
out without much regard to order or chronological arrangement, previously to
their being regularly transferred to the work. There are also additions in the
handwriting of Michael O'Clery0, the chief of the Four Masters, bringing the
Annals down as late as the year 1616, which appears to have been the last
entry ever made in the volume.

" These evidences will, I trust, be deemed amply sufficient to establish the
fact of this manuscript being the veritable original autograph of this important
work, written, as the title now prefixed to the Trinity College copy properly
states, ad mum Fergalli OGara. The circumstances relative to its history,
which I shall now have the honour to submit, will enable us, I think, to trace
its possession with tolerable certainty to the last direct representative of the
family of its illustrious patron.

" It has been hitherto generally believed that no perfect copy of the Second
Part of the Annals of the Four Masters was in existence, and that the mutilated
volume in the College Library, which is deficient in the years preceding 1335,
and was never carried farther than the year 1605, was the only original to be
found. The recent acquisition to our valuable collection of manuscripts of a
perfect transcript of the whole of the work, proved the supposition to be an
error, and that at the period when it was transcribed an original autograph of
the second volume had been in existence.

' Michael O'Clery.— This should be, "in the of Charles O'Conor of Belanagare, intimating

handwriting of Conary, the brother of Michael that Mary deBurgo, daughter of the Earlof Clan-

Clery." The last part of the work in which rickard, was the mother of Teige O'fiourke. The

the handwriting of Michael O'Clery appears, is remaining years to the end (thelast being 1616)

the last nine lines of the year 1605. The last line are in the hand of Conary O'Clery, as indeed is

in the same year is an interpolation, in the hand the greater part of the second volume._ED.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. XV

" In each of the volumes of this transcript we find an advertisement by the
Chevalier O'Gorman, for whom the copy was made, stating that ' the original
of the first volume was the property of Charles O'Conor, Esq., of Belanagare ;
and the original of the second, that of the Right Honourable Colonel William
Burton Conyngham, who lent it to Chevalier O'Gorman, by whom it was duly
returned to Colonel Conyngham, but has been since mislaid.' Thus far we can
trace our manuscript, as being the original from which the Chevalier's copy,
now in our possession, was transcribed ; and its ownership to Colonel Burton
Conyngham, whose library passed, subsequently, into the hands of the late
Mr. Austin Cooper, at whose recent sale the work was acquired. The Chevalier
O'Gorman's advertisement is without date, but a certificate, in the handwriting
of Charles O'Conor, Esq., is prefixed, stating that the transcript was made for
the use of his friend, the Chevalier O'Gorman, in his house at Belanagare :
' This,' he says, ' I testify in Dublin, May the 10th, 1 78 1.' Now, it is remarkable
that, from a letter written by the Chevalier O'Gorman to Charles O'Conor, dated
January 10, 1781, the same year (published in the Testimonia to the first volume
of the Annals in the Rerum Hib. Scriptores), we learn that our manuscript was,
at that time, ' the property' of Charles O'Conor. In this letter the Chevalier
says : ' I have seen Gorman' (the Scribe) ' this morning ; I find he has copied
but the first volume of the Four Masters, which Colonel Burton told me you
were pleased to return to him. I expected he would not only have copied the
second, but also the Annals of Connaught, both your property.' From this it
appears certain that our manuscript had belonged to Charles O'Conor, pre-
viously to its being transferred to the possession of Colonel Conyngham ; but
for what reason that transfer was made it is not for me to conjecture.

" Let us now proceed a little earlier, and we shall find that Mr. O'Conor
got the original copy of the Annals made for the O'Gara, from the direct repre-
sentative of that lord, as early as the year 1734. In the Prolegomena to the
first volume of the Rerum Hib. Scriptores, p. 51, the following extract is given
from a letter written by Charles O'Conor to Doctor Curry, and dated Roscom-
mon, July the 16th, 1756 : 'In regard to the Four Masters, I shall write to
Colonel O'Gara, in St. Sebastian, where he is quartered with his regiment, and
reproach him with giving more of his confidence to a little ignorant ecclesiastic
than to me, his nearest relation in this kingdom, his father and mine being

XVI

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

brother and sister's children. I got that work in 1734, through the interest of
Bishop O'Rourke, my uncle.' It is remarkable that this same letter is again
quoted in the 'Testimonia' prefixed to the Annals, in the second volume of the
same work, but as addressed, not to Doctor Curry, but to a Mr. O'Reilly. It
also differs in the wording, as will appear from the following extract : ' I shall
write to Colonel O'Gara, &c.' ' This expedient will, I hope, confirm the book
(the Annals of the Four Masters) to me.' From this it would appear that,
though he had gotten the work from the O'Gara family, as early as 1734, there
was, nevertheless, a claim put forward relative to it, on the part of some branch
of that family, so late as 1756. In the same ' Testimonial p. 11, Doctor O'Conor
quotes his grandfather as writing that he obtained the work in 1734, from Brian
O'Gara, Archbishop of Tuam, viz. :

'' ' Liber hie nunc pertinet ad Cathaldum juniorem O'Conor, filium Don-
chadi, &c., et ejusdem libri possessio tributa fuit ei per Brianum O'Gara, Archi-
episcopum praslarum Tuamias, A. D. 1734.

" ' CATHALDUS O'CONOR.'

" And in the memoirs of his grandfather, written by Doctor O'Conor, there
is the following passage : ' Colonel O'Gara, who commanded a regiment under
James the Second, made a present of the Four Masters to Doctor O'Rourke,
Mr. O'Conor's uncle, who gave it to him ; it is now in his library, and an auto-
graph.'— Memoirs, p. 256.

" Lastly, — In his account of the manuscripts in the Stowe Library, Doctor
O'Conor says : ' This volume was carried into Spain by Colonel O'Gara, who
commanded the Irish regiment of Hibernia, in the Spanish service, in 1734. He
sent it to his relative, the late Charles O'Conor of Belanagare, as the person
best qualified to make use of it'

" In these various accounts there is evidently some mystification11 or error,

" Mystification.— It is quite clear that there now deposited in the Library of the Royal Irish

were several copies of these Annals made by the Academy. Dr. Lyons sent a trace of the last

Four Masters, for, besides the copy of the first page of the first volume of these Annals at Rome,

volume preserved at Stowe, there is another, showing the exact size of the page and the cha-

equally authentic and original, in the College of racter of the writing. This trace contains the

St. Isidore, at Rome, with the proper attests- entire of the year 1169, and, on comparing it

tions, as appears from Dr. Lyons' letters from with the Academy and College copies of these

Rome, addressed to the Editor and to Dr. Todd, Annals, it was found that they do not agree in

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xvii

which it is not easy to understand ; but the object in all seems to be, to prove,
first, that the original autograph of the Four Masters, belonging to the O'Gara
family, was given to Mr. O'Conor ; and secondly, that the volume now at Stowe
was that very one so obtained. The first of these positions may be readily
granted, the second, however, appears to me to be extremely doubtful, and for
the following reasons : Bishop Nicholson, in his Irish Historical Library, pub-
lished in 1724, describes that very volume as being then in the Irish manuscript
collection of Mr. John Conry (or O'Maolconaire), a descendant of one of the
compilers, who had also in his possession the imperfect copy of the second
volume, now deposited in the Library of Trinity College. Doctor O'Conor
himself acknowledges this fact in the ' Testimonial and indeed it does not admit
of a doubt.

" What claim, then, we may ask, could the O'Gara family have to these
volumes ? And how could Colonel O'Gara have carried them into Spain ?
And how could he, or the Archbishop, bestow the former on any one ?

" Moreover, we find that in seven years after, that is, in 1731, those manu-
scripts of Conry's were on sale, and that Charles O'Conor appears to have been
the purchaser. In that year he writes thus to his friend, Doctor Fergus, relative
to their purchase for him : ' Dear Sir, I beg you will take the trouble of pur-
chasing for me Conry's manuscripts, now in the hands of Charles O'Neill,' &c. ;
and, further on, he says : ' I again request that you will be active in procuring
for me Conry's manuscripts ; my collection is very imperfect, and I wish to save
as many as I can of the ancient manuscripts of Ireland from the wreck that has
almost overwhelmed everything that once belonged to us.' — Memoir of Charles
O'Conor, p. 17$. That he did succeed in possessing himself of these manu-
scripts can hardly admit of a doubt, as most of them can be traced as belonging
to him subsequently. It was the same Doctor Fergus, to whom this letter was
addressed, that, as Mr. O'Conor states, put the first volume of the Annals into
better condition for him in 1734 (the very year in which he got the work from
Bishop O'Rourke), giving it, as he said, ' vigour enough to outlive another cen-

*

the size of the page or number of lines on the dence that the copy at Rome is not a counter-
page, this being about an inch and a half longer part of either of those in Dublin. It was pro-
and somewhat broader than the other, and con- bably the first volume of the copy sent out to
taining thirty lines. This affords strong evi- Ward, and used by Colgan.

C

XV111

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

tury ' And it was from the hands of the same gentleman, Doctor Fergus, that
the imperfect copy of the second volume, together with other works of Conry's
collection, which had undoubtedly been the property of Mr. O'Conor, passed
into the Library of Trinity College. That Mr. O'Conor should have parted
with that mutilated volume will not appear strange, if we account for it by
the supposition of his having had our perfect volume in his possession at the

time.

" It is of importance to this sketch also to add, that the first volume, now
at Stowe, as well as the second in Trinity College, afford internal evidences of
their being, not the original autograph of the work, but transcripts made by
one of the writers for his own individual use. These internal evidences are,
that the volume in Trinity College Library is written uniformly throughout by
tlie same hand"; and we have the testimony of Doctor Fergus prefixed to it,
stating that the second volume agrees in every respect, as to paper, writing,
&c. &c., with the first volume now at Stowe. In this Doctor O'Conor concurs,
who says emphatically, it is all in the one hand— the hand of Michael O'Clery.
— Catalogue of the Stowe Manuscripts, Further, it is to be observed, that those
volumes were evidently transcribed from the originals before the work was
entirely completed, for there are no entries after the year 1605, though the
dates are placed at the tops of succeeding pages for some years later, and
the blanks left to be filled up whenever any additional information might
be procured, have never received such additions as they have in our Manu-
script. It should be remarked also, that the certificate and dedication pre-
fixed to the Stowe Manuscript are written on paper, not parchment, as in our
Manuscript.

" Under all these circumstances, I trust I shall not be deemed rash in con-
cluding, that the Manuscript now bought for the Academy is not only the
original autograph of the work, but also, that there is scarcely a doubt of its
being the very copy which passed from the representative of the O'Gara family
into the hands of Mr. Charles O'Conor, and which subsequently became the

' By the same hand.— At the first inspection most part in the hand of Conary O'Clery; but

this would appear to be the case ; but the that the hands of Brother Michael O'Clery and

Editor had occasion to examine this copy mi- Cucogry or Peregrine O'Clery, appear also in in-

nutely and carefully, and found that it is for the numerable places throughout the volume.— Eu.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xix

property of Colonel Burton Conyngham, at the recent sale of whose books I
had the good fortune to purchase it.

" I have now no ordinary feeling of pleasure in resigning to its most proper
depository, the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, this truly inestimable
work, which, in the words of Mr. O'Reilly, ' is far above all our other Annals
in point of value ;' and as I have had the good fortune to purchase this work
at my own risk, and might, by letting it pass out of the country, have been a
great pecuniary gainer, I trust it will not be deemed presumption in me to
indulge the hope, that the resignation of it will be received as a memorial of
my attachment to the ancient literature of my country, and of my zeal for the
interests of the learned body to which I feel it so great an honour to belong.

"March 5, 1831." " GEORGE PETKIE.

Before concluding these preliminary remarks, it will be necessary
to give some account of the antiquaries by whom these Annals were
compiled, and who are now known as THE FOUR MASTERS, although
it is evident they never themselves assumed the name. That title
was first given them by Colgan, who explains his reasons for so
doing, in the preface to his Acta Sanctorum, to be presently cited ; to
which we may add, that Quatuor Magistri had been long previously
applied by the medical writers of the middle ages to the four masters
of the medical sciences, and that this circumstance probably suggested
to Colgan the appellation he has given to the compilers of these
Annals.

The FOUR MASTERS, who were the authors of the following work,
were Michael, Conary, and Cucogry O'Clery, together with Ferfeasa
O'Mulconry, of whom we shall now proceed to give some account,
in the order in which they have been named.

For the general pedigree of the O'Clerys of Ui-Fiachrach-Aidhne
and Tirconnell, taken from the genealogical manuscripts of Cucogry
O'Clery, now preserved in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy,
the reader is referred to Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy-

c2

XX

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

Fiachrach, printed for the Irish Archaeological Society in 1844,

pp. 71-91.

The O'Clerys were descended from Guaire Aidhne, surnamed the
Hospitable, King of Connaught in the seventh century, and were
originally seated in the territory of Hy-Fiachrach- Aidhne, now the
diocese of Kilmacduagh, in the county of Galway, to which territory
they had supplied several distinguished chieftains ; but they were
driven from thence by the De Burgos, shortly after the English inva-
sion. Some of them settled in the neighbourhood of Kilkenny, where
their descendants were literary men and antiquaries in 1453, for in
that year one of them, John Boy O'Clery, transcribed the Psalter of
Cashel for Edmond Mac Richard Butler, at Pottlesrath, in the county
of Kilkenny ; a manuscript now preserved in the Bodleian Library.
Others of them migrated to Breifny-O'Reilly, now the county of
Cavan ; and a third party settled under O'Dowda, in Tirawley and
Tireragh, where, in 1458, John O'Clery of Lackan was agent to
O'Dowda. — See Hy-Fiachrach, p. 125.

Of this Tirawley branch, an individual named Cormac Mac Dermot
O'Clery, who was a proficient in the Civil and Canon Laws, removed,
a short time previous to the year 1382, to Tirconnell, where he became
a great favourite with the monks and ecclesiastics of the monastery
of Assaroe, near Ballyshannon, by whom he appears to have been
employed as a professor of both laws. During his stay at Assaroe, the
youthful professor formed an acquaintance withO'Sgingin, O'Donnell's
ollav or chief professor in history, whose ancestors had enjoyed this
employment from a remote period. At this time, however, there
existed no male representative of the family of O'Sgingin but the old
historical ollav, who had an only daughter, whom he consented to
give in marriage to the young O'Clery, without requiring of him a
tinnscra, or dower (i. e. the portion to be paid to the wife's father by
the husband, according to the ancient Irish custom), except the fulfil-

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xxi

ment of the condition, that whatever male child should be first born to
them should be sent to learn and study history, in order that he might
become the heir of O'Sgingin. O'Clery promised to comply with
this request, and faithfully kept his promise. He had by O'Sgingin's
daughter a son, who, at the request of his maternal grandfather,
was named Gilla-Brighde, after his mother's brother, the intended
chief historian of Tirconnell, who had died some time before, in the
year 1382. This Gilla-Brighde became ollav to O'Donnell in history,
and was succeeded by his son, Gillareagh, who was succeeded by his
son, Dermot O'Clery, surnamed " of the Three Schools," because he
kept a school for teaching general literature, a school of history, and
a school of poetry. This Dermot became so distinguished and so
popular, that O'Donnell (Niall, the son of Turlough of the Wine\ to
enable him to increase his establishment, made him a grant of the
lands of Creevagh, in the parish of Kilbarron, in addition to what he
had inherited from O'Sgingin. Dermot of the Three Schools was
succeeded by his son, Teige Cam O'Clery, who had three sons dis-
tinguished for their hospitality, wealth, and erudition, and who built
a castle and other stone edifices on the hereditary lands of Kilbarron,
some fragments of the ruins of which are still to be seen. — For a view
of these remains, see the Irish Penny Journal for January 16th, 1841,
p. 225.

They also possessed the lands of Carrownacughtragh, Carrowan-
ticlogh, the glebe of Kildoney, free from any tithes to the Bishop of
Raphoe, the quarter of Coolremuir, and the quarter of Drumancrinn,
in the plain of Moy-Ene, on the south side of the River Erne, near
Ballyshannon. — See Inquisition taken at Lifford on the 12th of Sep-
tember, 1609; and Genealogies, $c., of Hy-Fiachrach, pp. 79-83.

The descent of the three O'Clerys, who, with Ferfeasa O'Mulconry,
were the Quatuor Magistri of Colgan, will appear from the following
table :

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

1. Dermot of the Three Schools O'Clery,
chief of his sept.

2. Teige Cam, chief,
d. 1492.

3. Dermot.

4. Cucogry O'Clery,
fl. 1546.

3. Tuathal O'Clery,
chief, d. 1512.

4. Teige Cam, chief,
d. s. p. m. 1565.

4. William O'Clery.

5. Donough O'Clery.

6. Conary O'Clery,
one of the Four
Masters.

6. Teige of the Mountain, i. e.
Brother Michael, Chief of
the Four Masters.

5. Maccon O'Clery,
chief, d. 1595.

6. Lughaidh, or Lewy
O'Clery of the Con-
tention, chief, fl.
1609.

7. Cucogry, one of the
Four Masters, d. 1 664.

Teige-an-tsleibhe (i. e. Teige of the Mountain) O'Clery, the chief
compiler of the following Annals, was horn about the year 1575, in
the parish of Kilbarron, near Ballyshannon, in the county of Donegal,
and was the fourth son of Donough O'Clery, who was the grandson of
Tuathal O'Clery, head of the Tirconnell branch of the family, who
died in 1512. On his admission to the religious order of St. Francis,
he dropped his original baptismal name, according to the usual prac-
tice on such occasions, and assumed the name of Michael. He did
not, however, enter into holy orders, but remained a lay brother of
the order, continuing to pursue the hereditary profession of an anti-
quary or historian, which he had followed in secular life. And his
pursuits received the full sanction and approbation of his superiors,
for, soon after joining his order at Louvain, he was sent to Ireland
by the Guardian of the Irish convent there, Hugh Ward (who was
then himself employed in writing the lives of Irish saints), to collect
Irish manuscripts, and other helps towards this grand undertaking.
Brother Michael O'Clery, who was eminently qualified for this task,
pursued his inquiry for about fifteen years, during which period he
visited the most distinguished scholars and antiquaries then living,

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS xxiii

and transcribed from ancient manuscripts many lives of saints, several
genealogies, martyrologies, and other monuments ; all which he trans-
mitted to Ward, who, however, did not live to avail himself of them
to any great extent, for he died soon after the receipt of them, viz.
on the 8th of November, 1635 ; but they proved of great use to the
Rev. John Colgan, Jubilate Lecturer of Theology at Louvain, who
took up the same subject after the death of Ward. During O'Clery's
stay in Ireland he compiled the following works :

1 . The Reim-Rioghraidhe, containing a Catalogue of the Kings of
Ireland, the Genealogies of the Irish Saints, and the Irish Calendar
of Saints' Days. This work, which Colgan describes as three works,
was commenced in the house of Connell Mageoghegan, of Lismoyny,
in the parish of Ardnurcher, and county of Westmeath, who was him-
self a learned antiquary. It was carried on under the patronage of
Turlough or Terence Mac Coghlan, Lord of Delvin Mac Coghlan, in
the King's County, and was finished in the Franciscan convent, at
Athlone, on the 4th of November, 1630. There is a copy of this
work in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, and the autograph
original is preserved in the Burgundian Library at Brussels.

2. The Leabhar-Gabhala, or Book of Conquests. This was com-
piled in the convent of Lisgool, near Enniskillen, in the county of
Fermanagh, under the patronage of Brian Roe Maguire, first Baron
of Enniskillen. In this work the O'Clerys had the assistance of Gil-
lapatrick O'Luinin, of Ard O'Luinin, in the county of Fermanagh,
Maguire's chief chronicler. The Testimonia and Approbations to this
work were signed by Francis Magrath, Guardian of Lisgool, on the
22nd of December, 1631, and by Flann, the son of Carbry Mac Egan,
of Bally-mac-Egan, in Lower Ormond, on the 31st of August, 1631.
There is a beautiful copy of this work, in the handwriting of Cucogry
or Peregrine O'Clery, now in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy.
It had been sold, or given away for some consideration in money, or

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

other value, to the late Edward O'Reilly of Harold's-cross, author of
the Irish-English Dictionary, by the late Mr. John O'Clery of Dublin,
a descendant of Cucogry, the annalist. This fact appears from a
memorandum in Irish, in the handwriting of Edward O'Reilly, now
in the possession of the Editor, and to be presently adduced. It is
probable that there exists another autograph copy of this work,
which was transmitted to Louvain for the use of Ward and Colgan.

3. The Annals of Ireland, called by Colgan Annales Quatuor Magis-
trorum and Annales Dungallenses, the work now for the first time
printed complete.

Besides the works above mentioned, Michael O'Clery wrote and
printed at Louvain, in 1643, a Dictionary or Glossary of difficult and
obsolete Irish words, under the title ofSanas-an Nuadh, which Lhwyd
transcribed into his Irish Dictionary. Harris says that he died in
1643.

The foregoing facts have been principally derived from Peregrine
O'Clery 's Genealogy of the O'Clerys, from the Dedications and Tes-
timonia to these works, and also from Colgan's Preface to his Acta
Sanctorum Hibernice, published in 1645, in which he gives the fol-
lowing interesting account of Michael O'Clery and his labours. After
speaking of the labours of Fleming and Ward in collecting and eluci-
dating the lives of the Irish saints, he writes as follows of O'Clery :

" Hos, quorum pia studia imitatus est, ad meritorum etiam subsequutus est
prasmia tertius noster confrater F. Michael Clery ante paucos menses mortuus,
vir in patriis antiquitatibus apprime versatus, cuius piis per annos multos la-
boribus, & hoc, & reliqua quae molimur, opera plurimum debent. Hie enim
cum esset in sseculo, professione Antiquarius, & in ea facultate inter primes
sui temporis habitus, postquam Seraphicum nostrum institutum in hoc Loua-
niensi Conuentu est amplexus, adhibitus est P. Vardseo coadiutor, & in hunc
finem postea cum Superiorum licentia & obedientia in Patriam remissus est ad
Sanctorum vitas, aliasque sacras Patriss antiquitates, (qua: vt plurimum patrio

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xxv

idiomate, eoque peruetusto, sunt scriptae) vndique eruendas & conquirendas.
In demandata autem prouincia indefesso studio laborauit annis circiter quin-
decim : & interea ex diuersis peruetustis patrij idiomatis Codicibus descripsit
multas Sanctorum vitas, genealogias, tria vel quatuor diuersa & vetusta Martyro-
logia & plura alia magnaa antiquitatis monumenta, quas denuo rescripta, hue
ad P. Vardasum transmisit. Demum ex Superiorum mandate ad hoc deputatus,
adiecit animum ad alias Patrias cum sacras, turn prophanas Historias & anti-
quitates expurgandas, & meliori methodo & ordine digerendas : ex quibus cum
adiutorio trium aliorum peritorum antiquariorum, (quos pro ternporis & loci
opportunitate ad id munus visos aptiores, in Collegas adhibuit) compilauit,
vel verius, cum ante fuerint k priscis Authoribus compositi, collatione plurium
veterum Codicum repurgauit, digessit, & auxit tres recondite antiquitatis trac-
tatus. Primus est de Regibus Hibernia3, singulorum genus mortis, annos regni,
ordinem successionis, genealogiam, & annum mundi vel Christi, quo singuli
decesserint, succincte referens : qui tractatus ob breuitatem potius eorundem
Regum Cathalogus, qukm Historia nuncupandus videtur. Secundus de genea-
logia Sanctorum Hibernian, quam in triginta septem classes sen capita distribuit,
singulos Sanctos longa atauorum serie ad familiae, ex qua descendit, primum
Authorem & protoparentem referens : quod idcirco Sanctilogium genealogicum,
& quibusdam Sanctogenesim placuit appellare. Tertius agit de prunis Hibernian
inhabitatoribus, de successiuis ejus k diluuio per diversas gentes conqua3Stibus,
siue expugnationibus, de Regibus interea reguantibus, de bellis & praalijs inter
hos obortis, alijsque publicis Insulas casibus & euentibus ab anno post diluuium
278, vsque ad annum Christi 1171.

" Cum eodem etiam Collegio, cui subinde ad tempus vnum, & aliquando duos
alios adiecit ex vetustioribus & probatioribus Patrise Chronicis & Annalibus,
& prsecipue ex Cluanensibus, Insulensibus, & Senatensibus ; collegit sacros &
prophanos Hiberniaa Annales, opus plane nobile, & Patrias vtile & Honorificum,
suamque molem alioquin satis iustam, antiquissimarum rerum fcecunda varietate,
& succincta relatione longe superans. Proponit enim ante oculos non solum
rei ciuilis statum, variasque vicissitudines per annos ter mille & amplius, quibus
stetit illud antiquissimum regnum, referendo Regum, Principum & heroum
gesta, dissidia, conflictus, praslia, obitus & annum, in quern singula inciderant ;

d

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

XXVI

brem dum nullus prope interea intercurrat annus, m quern non referat, vel
^'vnius, nunc mdtorum Sanctorum, vel Episcoporum, Abbatum, ahorumque
virorum, pietate & doctrina illustrium obitum, Ecclesiarumque nunc exstruc-
tiones, nunc incendia, expilationes & deuastationes, plerumque per Paganum,
& postea per h^reticum militem factas. College viri pij, vti m tnbus ante
memoratis, ita & in hoc quarto opere, reliquis longe prastantion, pnaapui
erant tres iam laudati, nempe Ferfessius o Moelchonaire, Peregrmus o Clery,
& Peregrinus o Dubgennan; viri in patria antiquitate consummate eruditioms,
& probate fidei. Accessit & his subinde cooperatio aliorum peritorum Anti-
quariorum, D. Mauritij o Moelchonaire, qui vno mense ; & D. Conarij Clery,
qui pluribus in eo promouendo laborauit. Sed cum Annales hi, quos nos in
hoc Tomo, & alijs sequentibus ssepius citamus, fuerint tot Authorum opera &
studio dispari, collecti & compilati; nee studium breuitatis permitteret singulos
expressis nominibus semper citare, nee gequitatis ratio multorum opus vni attri-
buere ; hinc aliquando visum est eos a loco Annales Dungallenses appellare ;
nam iii Conventu nostro Dungallensi inchoati & consummati sunt. Sed postea
ob alias rationes, potius ab ipsis compilatoribus, qui in facultate antiquaria
erant quatuor peritissimi Magistri, duximus Annales Quatuor Magistrorum appel-
landos. Tametsi enim iuxta iam dicta, plures quam quatuor ad eos expediendos
concurrerint ; quia tamen ipse concursus erat sat dispar, & solum duo ex eis
breui tempore, in exigua & posteriori operis parte laborarunt, alij vero quatuor
in toto, saltern vsque ad annum 1267 (quo prior & potissima, nobisque solum
necessaria, eius pars clauditur;) hinc sub eorum nomine ill ud citamus ; cum
fere nunquam vel rarissime quidquam quod post ilium annum contigerit, veniat
a nobis memorandum."

Of the history of Conaire O'Clery, the second annalist, the Editor
has learned nothing, except that he appears to have acted as scribe,
and to have transcribed the greater portion of these Annals, probably
at the dictation of his brother, or under his directions, from other
manuscripts. He was not a member of any religious order, and ap-

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xxvii

pears to have had no property except his learning. His descendants,
if he left any, are unknown. .

Cucogry or Peregrine O'Clery, the other annalist, was the head of
the Tirconnell sept of the O'Clerys. He wrote in Irish a life of the
celebrated Hugh Iloe O'Donnell, who died in Spain in 1602, which
was transcribed, in many instances verbatim, into the Annals of the
Four Masters. It appears from an Inquisition taken at Lifford on
the 25th of May, 1632, that this Cucogry held the half quarter of the
lands of Coobeg and Doughill, in the proportion of Monargane, in
the barony of Boylagh and Banagh, in the county of Donegal, from
Hollandtide, 1631, until May, 1632, for which he paid eight pounds
sterling per annum to William Farrell, Esq., assignee to the Earl of
Annandale; but, as the Inquisition states, "being a meere Irishman,
and not of English or British descent or sirname," he was dispos-
sessed, and the lands became forfeited to the King. Shortly after
this period he removed, with many other families of Tirconnell, to
Ballycroy, in the south of the barony of Erris, in the county of Mayo,
under the guidance of Rory or Roger O'Donnell, the son of Colonel
Manus O'Donnell, who was slain at Benburb in 1646, and who was a
son of the celebrated Niall Garv O'Donnell, who died in the Tower
of London in the year 1626. He carried with him his books, which
were his chief treasure, and which he bequeathed to his two sons,
Dermot and John, as we learn from his autograph will, which was
written in Irish, at Curr-na-heillte, near Burrishoole, in the county
of Mayo, and which is still extant, in rather bad preservation, in his
genealogical manuscript, now in the Library of the Royal Irish Aca-
demy. In this will, which was made shortly before his death, in 1664,
he says :

" I bequeath the property most dear to me that ever I possessed in this
world, namely, my books, to my two sons, Dermot and John. Let them copy
from them, without injuring them, whatever may be necessary for their purpose,

d2

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

xxvm

«d let the. be equally seen and used by the 4***£
as by themselves ; and let them instruct them according to the
request the children of Carbry to teach and instruct their children.

His son Dermot had a son, Carbry, who removed, with his wife
and children, to the parish of Drung, in the county of Cavan. Carbry
had a son, Cosnamhach or Cosney O'Clery, who was born m 1693
and died in 1759, leaving an only son, Patrick O'Clery, who married
Anne, daughter of Bernard O'Gowan or Smith, of Lara, in the county
of Cavan, and had by her six sons, the second of whom, John O'Clery,
removed to Dublin in 1817, carrying with them the Leabhar-Gabhala,
or Book of Invasions, the Book of Genealogies, the Life of Hugh Roe
O'Donnell, and the topographical poems of O'Dugan and O'Heerin,
all in the handwriting of his ancestor, Cucogry or Peregrine, the

annalist.

Of the fourth Master, Ferfeasa O'Mulconry, nothing is known, but
that he was a native of the county of Roscommon, and a hereditary

antiquary.

It remains now to say something of the monastery of Donegal,
near which these Annals were compiled, and from which they have
been called Annales Dungallenses. It is situated on the bay of Done-
gal, in the barony of Tirhugh, and county of Donegal.

It was founded for Franciscan Friars of the Strict Observance, in
the year 1474, by Hugh Roe, son of Niall Garbh O'Donnell, chief of
Tirconnell, and his wife, Finola, daughter of Conor na Srona O'Brien,
King of Thomond. — See annals of that year.

The remains of this monastery are still to be seen, in tolerable
preservation, at a short distance from the town of Donegal. The
cloister consists of small arches, supported by couplets of pillars on a
basement. In one part are two narrow passages, one over the other,
about four feet wide, ten long, and seven high, which seem to have
been places for depositing valuable effects in times of danger. The

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xxix

upper one is covered with stones laid along on the beams of stone
that cross it, and the lower one with stones laid across on the walls.
Ware says that this convent was famous for a well-stored library, but
it is impossible to ascertain what became of it.

On the 2nd of August, 1601, the building was occupied by a gar-
rison of 500 English soldiers ; and the friars fled into the fastnesses of
the country, carrying with them their chalices, vestments, and other
sacred furniture, though probably not their entire library. Shortly
afterwards, O'Donnell laid siege to this garrison, and on the 19th of
September following the building took fire, and was completely de-
stroyed, with the exception of one corner, into which the soldiers
retreated. It is more than probable that the library was destroyed
on this occasion. — See A. D. 1601, and note x, under that year,
p. b, 2252.

After the restoration of Rory O'Donnell to his possessions, the
brotherhood were permitted to live in huts or cottages near the mo-
nastery, from whence they were not disturbed till the period of the
Revolution. It was in one of these cottages, and not, as is generally
supposed, in the great monastery now in .ruins, that this work was
compiled by the Four Masters.

The following curious account of the flight of the friars from this
monastery is taken from a manuscript history of the Franciscans, in
the College of St. Anthony, at Louvain, compiled by Fr. Antonius
Purcell, under the direction of the Very Rev. Father Donough Mooney
(Donatus Monajus), Provincial of the Order of St. Francis, Nov. 2,
A. D. 1617. The manuscript is now No. 3195, Manuscrit. Biblio-
theque de Bourgogne, Bruxelles.

" Anno 1600 eramus ibi, scilicet [in] conventu Dunangallensi 40 f'ratres de
familia, et officia divina nocturna et diurna fiebant cum cantu et solernnitatibus
magnis. Habebam ipse curam sacristiaj in qua habui 40 indumenta sacerdota-
lia cum suis omnibus pertinentiis, et multa erant ex tela «,urea et argentea,

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

alinuot mtertexta et elaborata auro ; reliqua omnia serica. Erant etiam 16
E ±ntei et magni, ex quibus duo turn erant qui non erant deaurat,
± ct duo ibona pro £ sacramento. Suppellex satis honesta : eccles.a ne
To qufden, caruit* Sed ingravescente bello, et hereticis aliqualiter praeva-
lentibus, tandem potuerunt id efficere, ut pnncipe O'Donnelo in alns negoti
occupato ipri ad oPpldum Dunnangall pervenermt cum exercitu, et anno 16
in festo S Laurentii martyris in monasterio presidium mill urn collocarunt.
Fratres quidam praemoniti fugerunt ad loca silvestria, inde aliquot rmharibus
distantia, et suppellextilem monasterii navi impositam ad alium tutiorem locum
transtulerunt : ego ipse eram ex ultimis qui e conventu egressus sum, et m
navi ilia fugam coepi. Sed hie erant rerum exitus ; conventus in quo erat ill
praesidium militum, postea statim a principef obsidione cingitur, et Angli ibi
existentes nimium arctantur. Accidit autem illis casus admirabilis ; una
eademque hora, ignis, ut putatur divinitus aedificia conventus corripit, et multos
militum consumit, totumque conventum et ecclesiam incendit, et navis quae in
portum ingrediebatur victualia illis suppeditans ad scopulum collisa est; casu?
Qui superviscerunt adhuc ex Anglis intra fossas quas fecerunt se continuerunt,
et ad deditionem venire disposuerunt, deque articulis tractabant et conditionibus
deditionis. Jam nuntiatur principi, Hispanos auxiliares duce D. Joanne de
Aquila Kinsaliam in Momonia advenisse, et occupato oppido ab haereticis ibi
obsidione cingi, turn non cunctandum ratus, re apud Dunnangall infect^, in
Mommoniam proficiscitur, in itinere principi Onello et aliis occursurus, ut
simul omnes Hispanis opem ferret. Sed neque Kinsaliae res bene successerunt,
atque ita Hispani ad deditionem coacti sunt ; rebusque Catholicorum ita pro-
fligatis, princeps O'Donnell in Hispaniam se contulit, annoque sequent! 1602
omnia loca sui dominii in haereticorum potestatem devenerunt, et inter caetera
quae ibi perierunt suppellex ilia ecclesiastica. conventus de Dunnangall fuit
prEedseOliveroLamberto gubernatoriConacias ex parte haereticorum; qui calices
in cyphos profanes convertit, et vestes sacras in diversos profanes usus conver-
tendos scindi et delacerari curavit, et sic turn ipse conventus, turn omnis sup-
pellex ejus periit. Fratres autem usque in hodiernum diem vivunt turn per
modum congregationis in locis magis tutis infra terminos et limites destructos

f Red Hugh.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xxxi

conventus, nee defuit illis semper suus guardianus et numerus ad minus 12
fratrum. Aliqui etiam ex ipsis in alios conventus translati sunt. Pace postea
facta, et principe O'Donnell mortuo Hispani&, frater ejus Rodericus obtinuit
dominium majoris partis principatus, et a rege Angliae titulo comitis fuit
donatus, cum is titulus multo minor suo praecedente titulo fuerit. Is ccepit
con ven turn reaedificare, sed intelligens vitae suae Anglos insidiari, spem in sola
fuga collocans simul cum principe O'Nello in Flandriam se contulit, inde
Romam, ubi mortui ambo sun-t, ut satius infra dicetur ; fratresque sine protec-
tore et opus imperfectum reliquit. Nunc autem Angli heretici omnia possident
et permittunt antiques fratres in locis subobscuris, quia brevi omnes morituros
sciunt, residuum vitae traducere, aliquos aut recentiores illis addi facile non
permitterent, et hie est presens status conventus illius."

Having now given all that is known of the history of the Four
Masters and of their labours, it will be necessary to explain the manner
in which this work has been translated and illustrated. It has been
for some years generally acknowledged that Dr. O'Conor has fallen
into many serious mistakes, not only in the translation, but also in
deciphering the contractions of the autograph manuscript of the Four
Masters ; and the Editor has taken more than ordinary pains to com-
pare his printed text not only with the manuscripts above referred
to, but also with the text of the older annals, and with all other ac-
cessible manuscripts treating of ancient Irish history.

The portion of the Annals of the Four Masters edited by Dr.
O'Conor extends from the earliest accounts to the end of A. D. 1171 ;
and the Editor of the present work originally intended to publish the
second part only, namely, from 1171 to 1616, which was printed in
three volumes quarto in 1848 ; but the great scarcity of Dr. O 'Conor's
edition, its inconvenient form to the English reader, and its many
inaccuracies, subsequently induced the Editor to complete the work.
It would be envious to speak of the errors of one to whom Irish
literature is so much indebted as it is to Dr. O'Conor, who was,

xxxii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

moreover, the first to attempt the preservation of our ancient anna-
lists ; but it is necessary to say that the text in his edition is in many
places corrupt, arising generally from his having mistaken the mean-
ing of the contractions which he found in the original, and some-
times also from his having indulged in conjectural emendations.
These latter are commonly unfounded, and as they are often of a
nature to give birth to historical mistakes they have been fully pointed
out in the notes; for example : at the year A. M. 2530, he splits the
word maraip, mother, into math-oir, which he translates " Duces orien-
tates" to induce the reader to believe that a certain Cical Grigencho-
sach came to Ireland this year with eastern leaders or chieftains, whereas
the undoubted meaning of the passage is, that Cical came into Ireland
this year with his mother. — See p. 5, note m. At the year A. D. 743,
he turns Reguil, the name of an Irish saint, into the words pe, by, and
juil, foreigners, by which he attempts to prove that the Galls, Danes,
or Norwegians, had come into Ireland many years earlier than mo-
dern Irish historians had stated ; but this discovery happens to be a
mere blunder of his own, as the passage has no reference whatever
to Danes or Norwegians, being a simple notice of a simple fact, that
Arasgach, Abbot of Muicinis-Reguil, an island in Lough Derg, in the
Shannon, was drowned.— See p. a, 345, note °. At the year 898, he
turns the word rajan, i. e. qiua^an, which means a meagre or mise-
rable person, into Turaghan, which he translates turris ; whereas the
passage is a simple obit of Cosgrach, Anchorite of Inis-Cealtra, who
was usually called the Truaghan, i. e. the' Meagre or Miserable.

Besides the manuscripts of these Annals accessible to the Editor
in Dublin, which have already been described, he availed himself, with
the greatest diligence of which he was capable, of the assistance of
several other authorities. These he must now briefly speak of.

1. Keating s History of Ireland.— This work, though much abused
by modern writers, on account of some fables which the author has

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xxxiii

inserted, is, nevertheless, of great authority, and has been drawn from
the most genuine sources of Irish history, some of which have been
since lost. The Editor has several manuscript copies of this work, and
a translation into Latin, also in manuscript, and never published, by
Dr. John Lynch, the author of Cambrensis Eversus; but the most
valuable copy of it which the Editor ever saw, and of which he has
read every word, is now preserved in the Library of Trinity College,
Dublin (H. 5. 26). It was purchased in London for the College, a few
years ago, by Dr. Todd. It is in the handwriting of John, son of
Torna O'Mulconry, of the Ardchoill family, in the county of Clare, a
most profound Irish scholar, and a contemporary of Keating.

2. The Leabhar-Gabhala of the O'Clerys. — A beautiful copy of
this work, in the handwriting of Peregrine O'Clery, one of the
Four Masters, is preserved in the Library of the Royal Irish Aca-
demy. It consists of a series of authentic poems and other original
documents, from the earliest accounts to the period of the English
invasion, and is in fact a collection of the authorities and sources of
the Bardic history of Ireland. Much use has been made of it, and
many passages transcribed verbatim into their Annals by the Four
Masters.

3. An English Version of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, by Connell
Mageoghegan, Esq., of Lismoyny, in the county of Westmeath ; finished
on the last day of June, 1627. — This work, which begins with the
earliest period, is carried down to the year 1408. The original An-
nals in Irish are not known to be in existence, but the translation
accords, in the latter years, with the text of the Annals of Connaught.
In many entries it also agrees with the Annals of the Four Masters;
but in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries the chronology is often
antedated by four, five, and sometimes even seven years. This work
is of great value, as it contains exact versions in English of all the
peculiar idioms and phrases which occur in the various Irish Annals.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

The Editor has carefully compared it with the Annals of the Four
Masters, and found that it contains some curious entries which they
omitted, while they, on the other hand, record many historical events
of which this chronicle takes no notice.— See note b, p. Ixiv.

4. The Annals of Ulster.— Of these the Editor has compared two
copies with the text published by Dr. O'Conor, namely, the Bodleian
copy and Dublin copy. He has also compared a copy of an old
translation of the Annals of Ulster, which was evidently made from
the Bodleian manuscript, and which is now contained in two
volumes in the British Museum, the first part extending from the
year 431 to 1307, in the Clarendon Collection, torn. 49, Ayscough,
4795 ; and the other, extending from 1307 to 1504, preserved in
Clarend., torn. 20, Ays. 4784. The version is correct, but so literal
that it seems rude and inelegant. Neither of the manuscripts is in the
autograph of the translator, nor does either contain any entry which
might afford a clue to discover who he was ; but the Editor is of
opinion that the work was executed for Ussher or Ware, not, how-
ever, by Duald Mac Firbis, as some have thought, but by Tuileagna
O'Maelchonaire, or Tully Conry, who is mentioned by. the author of
Cambrensis Eversus as a distinguished Irish scholar and antiquary.
His handwriting and style of English appear in several manuscripts
in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, as in Laud, 610, and also in the
British Museum, Vesp. E. 11, Cotton, 115. — See the Proceedings of
the Royal Irish Academy, vol. ii. p. 336. Upon a comparison of all
these documents with the style and manner of this old English ver-
sion of the Annals of Ulster, the Editor grounds his opinion. But,
whoever was the author, the translation is exceedingly valuable ; for
it has preserved to posterity the equivalent English of a great portion
of the Irish language, as it was understood by one of the hereditary
professional seannachies or chroniclers of Ireland, about two centuries
ago. The copy of it used by the Editor was made for Dr. Todd, in 1 844.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xxxv

5. The occasional Translations from the Annals of the Four Masters
into Latin, which occur in the Act a Sanctorum of Colgan. — In the
works of this learned, laborious, and honest writer, the Editor has
found numerous passages faithfully translated from the Annals of the
Four Masters. His more lengthened and continuous translations from
those Annals, which the Editor arranged, for his own use, into alpha-
betical order, at the suggestion of the late Dr. Murphy, R. C. Bishop
of Cork, are contained in his Annals, as follows, published in the Trias
Thaum.: Armagh, pp. 292 to 311; lona, pp. 498 to 501; Deny, pp. 503
to 507; Durrow, pp. 507, 508 ; Kells, p. 508 ; Raphoe, p. 509 ; Swords,
p. 509 ; Rechrainn, p. 509 ; Fahan, p. 510 ; Druincliffe, p. 510 ; Kil-
dare, pp. 628, 629, 630.

6. A translation into very good Latin of Part of the Annals of the
Four Masters, extending from the year 1547 to 1558. — The original
manuscript of this translation is preserved in the Library of the British
Museum, Cod. Clarend., torn. 20, Ayscough, 4784 ; and a copy, in the
handwriting of Daniel Molyneux, Ulster King at Arms, in the Library
of Trinity College, Dublin, F. 1. 18, p. 287, et seq. This translation
was made for Sir James Ware by some good Irish and Latin scholar,
not improbably Dr. Lynch, the author of Cambrensis Eversus. The
Editor has printed the entire of this valuable piece in the present
edition, and has thus laid before the reader the original Irish of the
Four Masters, a Latin translation about two centuries old, beside his
own literal English translation of that portion of the Annals relating
to the reign of Queen Mary.

7. A Portion of the Annals of Lccan, extending from the year 1443
to 1468, translated into English in the year 1666, for the use of Sir
James Ware, by Duald Mac Firbis. — The original manuscript of this
translation, in the hand of the translator, is preserved in the Library
of the British Museum, Cod. Clarend., torn. 68, Ayscough, 4799 ; and
it has been recently printed from that manuscript, in the Miscellany

e2

xxxvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

of the Irish Archaeological Society. The Editor has not discovered
any Irish original exactly corresponding with this translation ; but it
contains many passages given also by the Four Masters, so that the
authority of Duald Mac Firbis has been, through it, obtained for the
meanings of a vast number of Irish words and phrases not used in the

modern idiom.

Many other translations, made from Irish annals, by the two
O'Conors, O'Flanagan, O'Reilly, and various other modern Irish
scholars, have been also procured, but the Editor has found that they
are not at all to be relied upon, with the exception of whatever was
executed by Charles O'Conor of Belanagare, who understood the Irish
language well, though he always improved on his original, and raised
it to the level of his own " magniloquent style" of English.

This patriotic and venerable gentleman was most anxious that
these Annals should be preserved uncorrupted for posterity ; but it
appears from various letters of his to the Chevalier O'Gorman and
others, that he had no reliance on the knowledge or accuracy of any
of the Irish scholars then living. As it was from a perusal of some of
these letters that the Editor was first stimulated to make himself
acquainted with all the old translations of Irish annals accessible in
Ireland and England, he thinks it may not be uninteresting to the
reader to give some extracts, in which Charles O'Conor expresses his
fears that the then general ignorance of the ancient language of Ire-
land would lead to the corruption of these Annals ; and it may be
further remarked, that the justice of his fears has been since clearly
demonstrated, as well by the labours of his own grandson, the editor of
the Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores, as by those of others, who have
attempted to translate portions of these Annals without possessing
the necessary qualifications for the task.

In his letter to the Chevalier O'Gorman, dated July 13th, 1781,
when he was in his seventy-first year, O'Conor says :

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xxxvii

•
" I knew well that the late Dr. 0' Sullivan* was unable to translate many

parts (and those the best) of our ancient Annals. None but men learned in
our old classic phraseology can undertake such a work."

In another letter, dated May 31, 1783, he writes to the same
individual as follows :

" I approve greatly of your intention to get our Annals of the Four Masters,
&c., translated. But if not undertaken by a man who has a critical knowledge
of the phraseology, with the changes made therein from the sixth to the tenth
century, the sense will be frequently mistaken, and a bad translation, in such a
case, will be worse than none at all. Even a publication of the Irish text
would require the collation of the different manuscripts for restoring the origi-
nal reading, and correcting the blunders of ignorant transcribers. I am glad
to have an assurance from you that the Rev. Mr. Mac Carthy, of Paris, is
equal to such a task ; but I am sorry to aver my opinion (from experience),
that few in this country will patronize him, and without a large subscription
no work of this magnitude can be undertaken."

Again, July 23, 1783 :

" I request that you will make your scribe to confine himself to an accurate
fac-simile, the contractions being singularly uncommon, and explainable only
by readers long and well acquainted with our writings. This caution is the
more necessary, as any deviation from the original, by an unskilful scribe, would
render the text unintelligible."

Again, September 14, 1783 :

" But the worst of it is, I doubt that you have a man in France or Ireland
who could decipher- the contractions. In my province of Connaught I know
of none*(I am sure there is none), myself excepted, who can read these Annals,

* Dr. Francis Stcmghton Sullivan was a Fel- manuscripts which now distinguishes the Uni-

low of Trinity College, and afterwards Professor versity Library. He died March 1, 1766. Ac-

of English and Feudal Law in the University of cording to his pedigree, given in manuscript in

Dublin. He was mainly instrumental in laying the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, he was

the foundation of the valuable collection of Irish of a junior branch of theO'Sullivan More family.

xxxvlli INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

or explain many of the terms, though they could read them. In the margins
of these Annals you will find several notes of mine, and I would caution you
against their being transcribed, lest they should be mistaken for any part of the
original."

Again, November 14, 1783 :

" At last I found a messenger that could be trusted with conveying the
Connaught Annals safe into your hands. In this province I know of none
but myself who can read or explain them, and the difficulty being likely to
increase every day, it will be the more necessary for your copyist to transcribe
them exactly as he finds them. Let his transcript be what we call a fac-simile,
for otherwise corruptions will creep into the text, and consequently your copy,
far from being of use, will only have the effect of multiplying mistakes. In
truth, as our original will be soon lost, I dread that our copies, falling into un-
skilful hands, will have this effect. Our originals, therefore (as our great
countryman, Mr. Burke, recommends), should be printed under the eye of a
learned Editor, with a literal translation in English or Latin. If this be
omitted (as I foresee it will), the treasures still preserved in our language will
be as certainly lost as those that have long since perished."

The reader Avill have now seen the difficulties with which an
Editor had to contend at his first entering upon this task, and how
necessary it was that he should procure all the old translations within
his reach.

A few words must here be added to explain the plan adopted for
printing the original text and the translation of these Annals, and on
the nature and style of the original. The second part of these Annals
was the first printed and published, and as the Editor had the use of
two autograph copies, and did not wish to take upon himself the
responsibility of deciding upon the mode of printing this very heavy
work, he requested the Publishers to submit the question to those
scholars and antiquaries on whose judgment they had most reliance ;
and, accordingly, it was submitted, on the 7th of February, 1845, to

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xxxix

the following persons : the Rev. Dr. Todd, F. T. C. D., Vice-Pres. R.I. A. ;
George Petrie, Esq., LL. D., Vice-Pres. R.I. A.; Aquilla Smith, Esq.,
M. D., M. R. I. A.; and Joseph Huband Smith, Esq., Barrister at Law,
M.R.I.A..

The Editor first stated his own opinion as to the mode of printing
the original and translation, but finally submitted to the following
rules, which were committed to writing by the Rev. Dr. Todd :

" I. The manuscript of the Royal Irish Academy to be followed ; variations
of the College copy to be inserted in brackets, if of sufficient importance to be
put in the text ; if of minor importance, to be mentioned in the notes.

" II. The stops to be exactly as in the Academy copy, except that, at the
end of a paragraph or entry, a full point is always to be used.

" III. Capital letters are not to be used in the Irish text, except where
they occur in the original.

" IV. The separate entries to be in distinct paragraphs, even though they
be not so in the original.

" V. The original Irish names of persons and places to be given in the
translation, as far as possible, in their received anglicised spellings, noticing
irregularities, or modern corrupt variations, in the notes ; but such names as
are obsolete, unknown, or doubtful, to be given in the original Irish spelling.

" VI. Italics to be used in the translation only where words, not in the
original, are supplied.

"VII. Brackets [ ] to be used when insertions are made, not in the original,
but which are necessary for explaining ambiguities, or filling up chasms in the
sense. Italics to be used when insertions are made which are necessary from
the different idioms of the two languages."

In printing the first part, from A. M. 2242 to A. D. 1171, as no
autograph copy was accessible to the Editor, he has used capital let-
ters in proper names, and arranged the paragraphs as in Dr.O'Conor's
edition. The proper names are always given in the original Irish
spelling in the text of the translation. — See p. xxxi., suprd.

x] INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

With respect to the style of these Annals, it will be seen that it
varies with the authorities from which the different entries have
been extracted. In the first part the language is extremely simple,
and few instances of inflation are observable ; but in the second part
the style varies a good deal : in the same page will be observed the
extreme veracious simplicity of the Annals of Ulster, and the turgidly
redundant style of the romantic tales of the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. In the more lengthened descriptions of battles, this in-
flated style is particularly observable ; and the Editor has most care-
fully preserved, in the translation, the order and literal meanings of
all the epithets, often almost synonymous, with which many sentences
are overloaded. It will be also observed that even in the more simple
and unimpassioned narratives there is usually a double expression,
such as "plundered and preyed," "battered and broke," "banished
and expelled," " killed and destroyed." This pleonasm of style, which
is not unlike that of the language of the English law, has been as
much as possible imitated by the Editor in the translation, so that
the reader may see the exact force of each Irish word by comparing
the original with the translation.

It should also be observed, that some entries have been hurriedly
and carelessly transcribed, from their respective originals, by the Four
Masters, and that several of their after-insertions between the lines
are so arranged as to render the construction inelegant. The Editor
has compared such entries with the more ancient Annals in every
possible instance, and pointed out in the notes what has been omitted
or irregularly transcribed by the Four Masters ; but, throughout the
second part, he has printed their own text exactly as it is found in
their autograph manuscript, in the Library of the Royal Irish Aca-
demy, dispensing, in every instance, with their contractions, except
their -), i. e. a5ur, and; their f, which is sometimes e simple and
sometimes ea ; and their p, which is for Deic, ten. All the gramma-

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xli

tical terminations, which they have generally written, in contractions,
have been printed in full, according to the rules laid down by the
Editor in his Irish Grammar.

The general Index to the whole will facilitate the references, not
only to the names of men and places, but also to remarkable subjects,
such as battles, burnings, demolitions, &c., and thus supply a great
defect in Dr. 0 'Conor's edition of the first part of the Irish Annals,
which is unaccompanied by any index of this kind. The following
letter, written by Dr. O'Conor, a short time before his death, to
Mr. Hardiman, wiU show that he regretted not having been able to
make indexes to his edition of the Irish Annals :

" Stove, 10th March, 1825.

" DEAR SIR, — I feel that I ought to make an humble apology for my silence
ever since I had the honor of receiving from you your valuable History of
Galway, for his Grace of Buckingham and Chandos's Collection, and your
Catalogue of the Maps, &c., in Trinity College Library, for my own. I value
your History highly, as every one must who is disgusted by the silly assertions,
the loose references, the false chronology, the inflated style of most of our
modern writers. For the same reason I value your Catalogue, and only lament
that you had not more abundant materials. In return for your kind present to
me, I shall send you a copy of my Tighernach, as soon as it comes out in the
month of May. The original is printed in one column, and the version, almost
literal, opposite in another, in imitation of the Saxon Chronicle. The original
is taken from the Duke of Chandos's MS., now in the Bodleian. It is the
oldest known. If -you will call in the Bodleian for the MS. Kawlinson,
No. 488, you will find that my labour must have been excessive, even had I
confined it to deciphering the text. It is far from my intention to sound my
own praise ; my object is merely to shew you that I feel a just sense of the
urbanity which induced you to send me your works. My Tighernach wants
only an Index. But that Index will require more time than would be neces-
sary, if I enjoyed a better state of health. In the same volume, intituled Rerum
Hibernicarum Scriptores, vol. 2, you will find the Annals of Tunis/alien and of

f

xlii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

noyle, from the original MSS. in the Bodleian and Cotton Libraries. These are
finished in like manner, with the exception of Indexes. The Annals of the
Four Masters, as far as the first volume extends, that is, to the pretended
Anglo-Norman conquest of Ireland, are finished (with the same exception)
from the original in this Library. The second volume, in the Dublin Library, is
so mutilated, that I leave that fragment to the care of posterity, contented with
ending where Giraldus, Hollingshead, Leland, and most of our modern histo-
rians, begin. The Annals of Ulster are also printed down to the same time,
from the Bodleian MS., so that we have all that is known of ancient Irish
history down almost to the death of Henry the Second.

" I write, in this damp weather, with such a tremulous hand, that I was com-
pelled to dictate the above to an amanuensis. But I cannot commit to another
the pleasure of transmitting to you his Grace the Duke of Buckingham's and
Chandos's thanks for your Galway.

" I have the honour to be, dear Sir,

" With sincere esteem and regard,

" Your much obliged and humble Servant,
" CHARLES O'CoNOR."

With respect to the chronology of these Annals, from A. M. 2242
down to the period of Cimbaeth, no competent scholar can doubt
that it is arbitrary and uncertain. But we are not to suppose that
the Four Masters are altogether responsible for it. This early portion
of the Annals, it must be borne in mind, was compiled by them from
the Annals of Clonmacnoise, and from different other authorities,
such as the Synchronisms of Flann, the Poems of Maelmura on the
Origin of the Gaeidhil, the Poems of Gillacaemhain, Eochaidh
O'Floinn, and various other sources ; and, as compilers, their duty
was to place such accounts as were accessible of direct computation
in as natural and reasonable an order as possible. Unfortunately,
however, among all the events narrated, no eclipse of the sun or moon,
or appearance of a comet, or any other astronomical phenomenon,
is recorded, by which their authenticity could be tested or a certain

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xliii

date fixed. O'Flaherty expresses his surprise, indeed, at the minute
chronological accuracy with which the earliest historical facts (as he
considers them) are noticed by Irish historians ; such as the arrival
in Ireland of Ceasair, the granddaughter of Noah, with a band of
antediluvians, forty days before the flood, on the fifteenth day of the
moon, being the Sabbath ; and the landing of Partholan at Inbher-
Sgeine, in Kerry, in the month of May, the fourteenth day of the
moon, on a Wednesday. From the minuteness of these dates the
author of Ogyyia, instead of having his suspicions aroused, does not
hesitate to conclude that the Pagan Irish had, from the earliest
period, a most accurate system of chronology. But it never seems
to have occurred to him to ask the simple question, how were the
age of the moon and the day of the week at the landing of Ceasair
and Partholan handed down to the Irish writers, seeing that, accord-
ing to those writers themselves, Ceasair and her followers perished
in the flood, and that Partholan and his colony were all carried off
by the plague ? The bardic historians reply by getting still deeper
into fiction, and relating that Fintan, the son of Bochra, who accom-
panied Ceasair into Ireland, after having passed through various
transmigrations, at length assumed the human form in the time of
St. Patrick, and lived down to the time of St. Finian of Magh-bile,
to whom he narrated all the events that had taken place in Ireland
up to that period. O'Flaherty rejects this as a clumsy fable, but
finds himself constrained, in order to support his chronological
theory, to insist that the Pagan Irish had the use of letters, and an
accurate system of chronology, from the earliest period of the colo-
nization of Ireland.

This way of proving the authenticity of Irish chronology only
damages true history ; but at the same time there is a mode of ex-
plaining the entries in question, so as to obviate the necessity of
rejecting them altogether : we have only to assume that they are

f2

xliv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

facts preserved by oral tradition, and that the Irish writer who first
attempted to fix the age of the moon and the day of the week, on
which Ceasair landed in Ireland, made' such calculations as he was
able to make (whether correct or not is of no consequence), comput-
ing forty days before to the usually assumed date of Noah's flood,
and seeking to account for his accurate knowledge of the date so
assumed by means of a bold fiction. In this latter object, strange to
say, he partially succeeded ; for, silly as it may now seem to us, it
is a fact that the fable connected with these dates passed current
amongst the Irish literati down to the seventeenth century ; for,
though Eochy O'Flannagan of Armagh, in the eleventh century, gave
no credit to the story of Fintan having survived the general deluge,
his scepticism surely did not arise from its improbability, but because
it involved a statement "contrary to the holy Scripture, which sayeth
that all the world were drowned in the General Flood, saveing Noeh
and his three sons, Shem, Cham, and Japheth, with their fower
wives." — Ann. Clon. See p. 2, note b.

It is therefore, surely, infinitely more probable that an early Irish
chronologist made a calculation of the age of the moonh, and the

h The age of the moon — Dr. O'Conor has the marbles, which were composed sixty years after

following observations on this subject, in his the death of Alexander, take no notice of Olym-

account of the Annals of the Four Masters, in piads. There are no fixed epochs in Herodotus

the Stowe Catalogue, p. 114, n. 2: or Thucydides. Timteus of Sicily, who flou-

" The Europeans had no chronology before rished in the 12Qth Olympiad, or about the

the conquest of Darius the Mede, by Cyrus, middle of the third century before Christ, was

538 years before Christ. The chronology we the first who attempted to establish an sera, by

now have of more ancient times is technical, comparing the dates of Olympiads, Spartan

and has been brought to a great degree of accu- Kings, Archons of Athens, and Priestesses of

racy by Petavius and Ussher. Polybius says Juno, which he adapted to one another, accord-

(1. 5, § 33) ihntEphorus, the disciple of Isocrates, ing to the best of his judgment. Where he left

and the historian of Cumse, was the first who off Polybius began.

attempted to reduce chronology into a regular " Those who have adopted the chronology of

science, in the time of Philip of Macedon, the LXX., which makes the world older than it

about 350 years before Christ. The Arundelian is in the Hebrew text, are ably refuted by Natalis

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xlv

day of the week, as they would retrospectively stand forty days be-
fore the deluge, than that he found anything purporting to be a
record of the date of Ceasair's arrival on stone, tile, or parchment.
It would be easier to receive the whole story of Ceasair and her fol-
lowers, as well as the date, for a fabrication, than to suppose that any
written or inscribed record of such a fact could have existed before
the use of letters, or even of hieroglyphics, was known to mankind.
The accuracy of ancient dates being thus apocryphal, we are
driven to regard the catalogue of kings, given by Gilla-Caemain and
others, as a mere attempt at reducing to chronological order the
accumulated traditions of the poets and seanachies of Ireland. But
that a list of Irish monarchs was attempted to be made out at a very
early period is now generally admitted by the best antiquaries.
Mr. Pinkerton, who denies to the Irish the use of letters before their
conversion to Christianity, still admits the antiquity of their list of
kings :

" Foreigners" (he remarks,) " may imagine that it is granting too much to
the Irish to allow them lists of kings more ancient than those of any other
country in modern Europe ; but the singularly compact and remote situation
of that island, and its freedom from Roman conquest, and from the concussions
of the fall of the Roman Empire, may infer this allowance not too much. But
all contended for is the list of kings, so easily preserved by the repetition of
bards at high solemnities, and some grand events of history." — Inquiry into the
History of Scotland.

At what period regular annals first began to be compiled with
regard to minute chronology we have no means of determining ; but

Alexander. Every discovery, and every vestige " Prsoterea si nulla fuit genitalis origo,
of the history of man, tends to prov« that this Terrarum, et Coeli, semperque seterna fuere,
planet is not inhabited above 6000 years. The Cur supra bellum Thebanum, & funera Trojje,

glaring truth of the recent origin of man is Non alias alij quoque rescecinere Poeta? ?
acknowledged even by Lucretius, 1. 5, De Rer. Quare etiam qutedam nunc artes expoliuntur,

Nat. : Nunc etiam augescunt ?"

x]vi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

we may safely infer from the words of Tighernach, that the ancient
historical documents existing in his time were all regarded by him
as uncertain before the period of Cimbaeth, the commencement of
whose reign he fixes to the year before Christ 305. His significant
words, omnia monumcnta Scotorum usque Cimbaeth incerta eranl,
inspire a feeling of confidence in this compiler which commands
respect for those facts which he has transmitted to us, even when
they relate to the period antecedent to the Christian era. The
Annals of Ulster are also free from the objections that have been
alleged against the early portion of the Annals of the Four Masters,
the compiler beginning with the mission of Palladius to the Scoti,
and frequently citing the names of the authors or compilers whose
works he had before him, the oldest of which is Mochta, the patron
saint of Louth, and Guana (genitive, Cuanach], who seems to be
"Cuana scriba Treoit," whose death is recorded under the year
739; and Dubhdalethe, who was at first Lector and afterwards
Archbishop of Armagh, and who died in the year 1065. The follow-
ing passages, extracted from the Annals of Ulster, will show that
they have been copied from various sources :

" A. D. 439. Chronicon magnum scriptum est."

"A. D. 467. Quies Benigni Episcopi, successoris Patricii. Cena Cempa la
hQilill TTlolc. Sic in libro Cuanach inveni."

" A. D. 468. Bettum Dumai Qchip pop Oilill TTlolc. Sic inveni in Libro
Cuanach."

"A. D. 471. Preda secunda Saxonum de Hibernia ut alii dicunt in isto anno
diducta est, ut Moctus dicit. Sic in Libro Cuanach inveni."

"A. D. 475. Bettum 6pe5 h&le pe nCtibll ITlolc. Sic in Libro Cuanach

inveni"

"A. D. 482. Bettum Oche la Lujaio mac Lae5aipe a5ur la TTluipceap-
cach mac Gapca, in quo cecidit Q.lill TTlolc. A Concobaro filio Nesse usque
ad Copmac jilium Qipc anni cccviii. ; a Copmac usque ad hoc helium cxvi. ut
Cuana scripsit."

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xlvii

"A. D. 489. Bellum Cinn Lopnaoo, ubi cecidit Cen^up^i/ms Narppaich

pij TTlurrian, ut Guana scripsit."

" A. D. 527. Vel hie dormitatio Brigide secundum librum Mochod [Mochta?].
" A. D. 534. Dormitatio Mocta discipuli Patricii xiii. Kal. Septemb. Sic ipse

scripsit in Epistola sua ' Macutenus peccator presbiter S. Patricii discipulus in

Dno. salutem.' " — Ann. Ult.

" A. D. 544. Oiapmaio regnare incipit, secundum Librum Cuanach."
"A. D. 552. Mors Cpimramn mic bpiuin. Sic in Libro Cuanach inveni."
" A. D. 598. Quies Cainnij in Qcaio bo, ut Guana docet."
" A. D. 600. Terre motus in baippchi. Mors bpenoainn mic Coipppi mic

peicbine. Sic inveni in Libro Cuanach."

" A. D. 602. Omnia quce scripta sunt in anno sequente inveni in Libro

Cuanach, in isto esse perfecta."

" A. D. 610. Quies Colmam 6to. Sic est in Libro Cuanach."

" A. D. 628. Mors Gch&ac buibe, regis Pictorum, Jilii Qeoam. Sic in

Libro Cuanach inveni. Vel, sicut in Libro Ouihoalece narratur."

" A. D. 642. Cellach et Conall Gael regnare incipiunt, ut alii dicunt. Hie

dubitatur quis regnavit post Oorhnall. Dicunt alii historiographi regnasse qua-

tuor reges .1. Cellach et Conall Gael, et duo Jilii Geoa Slaine .1. Oiapmaic et

blacmac per commixta regna!'

"A. D. 972. Conga la Oorhnall hUa Neill t>e Oabull Dap Sliab nUaic

co Loch nGinoenne, quod nonfactum est ab antiquis temporibus. Sic in Libro

Ouibhoaleichi."

"A. D. 1021. Cpech la mac Cteba hUi Neill nap hUib Oopcainn, &c.
Sic in libro OuiBoaleichi."

From these notices we have reason to believe that the ecclesias-
tical writers carried forward a continuous chronicle from age to age ;
each succeeding annalist transmitting the records which he found
existing along with his own ; thus giving to the whole series the
force of contemporary evidence.

The precision with which the compiler of the Annals of Ulster
has transmitted the account of an eclipse of the sun, which took
place in the year 664, affords a proof that this entry was derived from

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

a contemporaneous record. — See note x, under A. D. 664, p. 277.
Venerable Bede, who is followed by the Four Masters, mentions this
solar eclipse as having occurred on the third day of May ; but the
Annals of Tighernach and Ulster have preserved the exact day and
hour. Bede having evidently calculated the time according to the
Dionysian cycle, the error of which was not detected in his time,
and the Irish annalists having copied the passage from the record of
one who had seen this eclipse, and noted it at the time of observa-
tion. The following notices of eclipses and comets, copied from
various works by the compiler of the Annals of Ulster, will show that
they were recorded by eye-witnesses. The reader is to bear in mind
that the Annals of Ulster are antedated by one year up to 1014, and
that, in comparing these eclipses with the catalogue of eclipses com-
posed by modern astronomers, he should add one year to the respec-
tive dates.

, " A. D. 495 [496]. Solis defectio."
" A. D. 511 [512]. Defectus soils contigit"
" A. D. 590 [591]- Defectio solis .i. mane tenebrosum."
" A. D. 613 [614]. Stella [comata] visa est hora octavo die?
" A. D. 663 [664]. Tenebre in Kalendis Maii in na hora."
" A. D. 673 [674]. Nubes tennis et tremula ad speciem celestis arcus iv, vigilia

noctis vi. feria ante pasca ab oriente in occidentem per serenum celum apparuit.

Luna in sanguinem versa est"

" A. D. 676 [677]. Stella comata visa in mense Septembris et Octobris."

" A. D. 691 [692]. Luna in sanguineum colorem in Natali S. Martini

versa est"

" A. D. 717 [718]. Edipsis lune in plenelunio."

" A. D. 752 [753]. Sol tenebrosus"

" A. D. 761 [762]. Luna tenebrosa. Nox lucida in Autumno."

" A. D. 762 [763], Sol tenebrosus in hora tertia."

" A. D. 772 [773]. Luna tenebrosa ii. Nonas Decembris."

" A. D. 787 [788]. Luna rubra in similitudinem sanguinis xii.Kal Martii"

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. xlix

" A. D. 806 [807]. Luna in sanguinem versa est."

"A. D. 864 [865]. Eclipsis solis in Kal. Januarii, el Edipsis Lune in eodem

anno."

" A. D. 877 [878]. Eclipsis Lune Idibus Octobris iv. Lune."

" A. D. 884 [885]. Eclipsis Solis et visce sunt stella in Ccelo."

" A. D. 920 [921]. Eclipsis Lune xv. Kal. Jan. feria prima hora noctis."

" A. D. 1018. The Comet permanent this year for 14 days in harvest." —

Cod. Clarend., torn. 49.

" A. D. 1023. An Eclipse of the Moone the 4th Id. of January, being

Thursday. An Eclipse of the Sunn the 27th of the same Moone, on Thursday."

— Cod. Clarend., torn. 49.

"A. D. 1031. An Eclipse on the day before the Calends of September." —

Cod. Clarend., torn. 49.

"A. D. 1065 [1066]. There appeared a Commett for the space of three

nights, which did shine as clear as the Moone at the full." — Ann. Clon.

The dates assigned to these eclipses are confirmed by their accord-
ance with the catalogue of eclipses in L'Art de Ver. les Dates, torn. i.
pp. 62-69 ; and from this accuracy it must be acknowledged that they
have been obtained by actual observation, and not from scientific cal-
culations ; for it is well known that any after calculations, made before
the correction of the Dionysian period, would not have given such
correct results.

Mr. Moore has the following remarks upon the eclipse of 664 :

" The precision with which the Irish annalists have recorded to the
month, day, and hour, an eclipse of the sun, which took place in the year 664,
affords both an instance of the exceeding accuracy with which they observed
and noted passing events, and also an undeniable proof that the annals for that
year, though long since lost, must have been in the hands of those who have
transmitted to us that remarkable record. In calculating the period of the
same eclipse, the Venerable Bede, led astray, it is plain, by his ignorance of
that yet undetected error of the Dionysian cycle, by which the equation of the
motions of the sun. and moon was affected, — exceeded the true time of the

g

1 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

event by several days. Whereas the Irish chronicler, wholly ignorant of the
rules of astronomy, and merely recording what he had seen passing before his
eyes,-namely, that the eclipse occurred about the tenth hour on the 3rd of
May in the year 664,-has transmitted a date to posterity, of which succeeding
astronomers have acknowledged the accuracy."-£^n/ of Ireland, vol. i.
p. 163.

At what period it became the practice in Ireland to record public
events in the shape of annals has not been yet accurately determined ;
but it will not be too much to assume that the practice began with
the first introduction of Christianity into the country. Now, it is
highly probable that there were Christian communities in Ireland
long before the final establishment of Christianity by St. Patrick, in
the fifth century. We learn from St. Chrysostom, in his Demonstratio
quod Christus sit Dem, written in the year 387, that the British Islands,
situated outside the Mediterranean Sea, and in the very ocean itself,
had felt the power of the Divine Word, churches having been founded
there and altars erected1.

But the most decided evidence that the Irish had the use of
letters before St. Patrick's time, is derived from the account of
Celestius, an Irishman, the favourite disciple of the heresiarch Pela-
gius. St. Jerome, alluding to a criticism of Celestius upon his Com-
mentaries on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians, thus launches
out against this bold heretic :

" Nuper indoctus calumniator erupit, qui Commentarios meos in epistolam
Pauli ad Ephesios reprehendendos putat. Nee intelligit, nimia stertens vecor-

1 Kat ~/ap al B/jeroctKoi vrjaoi, al T;}? flaXarri/s where accompanied Christianity, had been known

eVTos Keifievat TUUTJ/S, Kat ev aima ovoai Tip uiiceavia in Ireland at that date. The accurate Innes

T»;S Swafieias ^ov pr/fiaTo? ^adovio- KOI yap Kaicei thinks it "not unreasonable to believe that pri-

E/r<c\»;<T<at <cat OvaiaaTijpia ir<=Tn\^aaiv — S. Chry- vate individuals at least, among the Irish, had

sost. Opp., torn. i. 575. B. Ed. Bened. the use of letters before the coming of St. Pa-

But, if such were the case, we may reasonably trick, considering that it may have happened

conclude that the use of letters which every- that some of the Irish before that time, passing

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 11

dili, leges Commentariorum, &c nee recordatur stolidissimus, et Scotorum

pultibus prasgravatus, nos in ipso dixisse opere : non damno digamos imo nee
trigamos, et si fieri potest octogamos : plus aliquid inferam etiam scortatorem
recipio poenitentern'k.

And again in the Proemium to his third book on Jeremiah, St.
Jerome thus more distinctly mentions the native country of Celestius :

" Hie tacet, alibi criminatur : mittit in universum orbem epistolas biblicas
prius auriferas, nunc maledicas et patientiam nostram, de Christi hurailitate
venientem, malte conscientite signum interpretatur. Ipseque mutus latrat per
Alpinum [al. Albinum] canem quandem et corpulentum, et qui calcibus magis
possit stevire, quam dentibus. Habet enim progeniem Scoticas gentis, de Bri-
tannorum vicinia : qui juxta fabulas Poetarum, instar Cerberi spirituali percu-
tiendus est clava, ut aeterno, cum suo magistro Plutone silentio conticescat"1.

It appears from Gennadius, who flourished A. D. 495, that before
Celestius was imbued with the Pelagian heresy, he had written from
his monastery to his parents three epistles, in the form of little books,
containing instructions necessary for all those desirous of serving God,
which, by the way, bore no trace of the heresy which he afterwards
broached. The words of Gennadius are as follows :

" Celestius antequam Pelagianum dogma incurreret, im6 adhuc adolescens,
scripsit ad parentes de monasterio Epistolas in modum libellorum tres, omnibus
Deum desiderantibus necessarias. Moralis siquidem in eis dictio nil vitii post-
modum proditi, sed totum ad virtutis incitamentum tenuit"m.

This passage affords sufficient evidence to prove that the Scotica
gens, in the neighbourhood of Britain, had the use of letters towards

over to Britain, or other parts of the Roman thought that the Scotica gens, here referred to,

empire, where the use of letters was common, was the modern Scotland ; but this question

might have learned to read and write." has been long since settled. Ireland was the

k Hieron. Prolog, in lib. i. in Hieremiam. Opp. only country called Scotia in St. Jerome's time,

Ed. Vallarsii, torn. iv. or until the twelfth century.

1 Prolog, i. lib. Hi. in Hieremiam. Some have m Gennadius de Script. Eccl. c. 44.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

the close of the fourth century; and it maybe added, that a country
that produced such able men as Celestius and Albums could hardly
have been an utter strangerto civilization at the tune they flourished.
On the whole, it may be conjectured, with probability, that letters
were known to the Irish about the reign of Cormac, son of Art ; and
this throws the boundary between what must have been traditional,
and what may have been original written records, so far back as to
remove all objection on that ground to the authenticity of the
lowing Annals, from at least the second century of the Christian era.
The reader will find these conclusions supported by the opinions
of a historian of the highest character, on the general authenticity
and historical value of that portion of the Irish Annals made accessible
to him by the labours of Dr. O'Conor :

" The chronicles of Ireland, written in the Irish language, from the second
century to the landing of Henry Plantagenet, have been recently published,
with the fullest evidence of their genuineness and exactness. The Irish nation,
though they are robbed of their legends by this authentic publication, are yet
by it enabled to boast that they possess genuine history several centuries more
ancient than any other European nation possesses, in its present spoken lan-
guage. They have exchanged their legendary antiquity for historical fame.
Indeed, no other nation possesses any monument of its literature, in its present
spoken language, which goes back within several centuries of these chronicles"".

" Sir James Mackintosh, History of England, domain of history enabled him fully to appre-

vol. i. chap. 2. On this passage Mr. Moore re- ciate any genuine addition to it." — History of

marks: "With the exception of the mistake in to Ireland, vol. i. p. 168.

which Sir James Mackintosh has here, rather Whether what Mr. Moore calls a mistake on

unaccountably, been led, in supposing that, the part of the English historian was really one

among the written Irish chronicles which have may be fairly questioned. It is evident that Sir

come down to us, there are any so early as the James Mackintosh was of opinion that there

second century, the tribute paid by him to the were entries in the Annals of Tighernach which

authenticity and historical importance of these were copied from passages originally committed

documents appears to me in the highest degree to writing in the second century ; and there is

deserved ; and conies with the more authority nothing adduced by Mr. Moore or others to in-

from a writer whose command over the wide validate this opinion.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. liii

The Editor cannot close these remarks without returning thanks
to the Provost and Senior Fellows of Trinity College, Dublin, for
allowing him the use of their splendid collection of Irish manuscripts ;
and to such friends as have assisted him in the present work. Among
these friends he must reckon, as the first in order, our most eminent
antiquary, George Petrie, Esq., LL.D., &c., who has read all the sheets
of the second part as they passed through the Press, and made many
valuable suggestions. To Mr. Eugene Curry, by whom the autograph
of this work was copied for the Press, and who has supplied very
many examples from ancient glossaries to elucidate the meanings of
difficult words, and various manuscript authorities, unexplored by any
but himself, to illustrate the ancient topography, he feels particularly
indebted. To James Hardiman, Esq., M. R. I. A., whose labours as a
member of the late Irish Record Commission have rendered him fami-
liar with all the sources of Anglo-Irish history, he must return his
special thanks ; from him he has received, freely and liberally, not
only his valuable opinion on several historical points, but also many
Anglo-Irish law documents bearing on the history of the Irish chief-
tains, which have never been published. The Editor has, moreover,
to acknowledge his many obligations to the Rev. Dr. Todd, F.T.C.D.,
who has kindly afforded him every facility in consulting the College
manuscripts, as well as the benefit of his enlightened criticism on
many historical points throughout the entire progress of the work.

The Editor has also been assisted by various others, but more
especially by his friend, Captain Larcom, R. E., who has been the
active promoter of Irish literature, antiquities, and statistics, ever since
the summer of 1825, and who, during his connexion with the Ord-
nance Survey, exerted himself most laudably to illustrate and preserve
the monuments of ancient Irish history and topography. And he is
much indebted to Captain Cameron, R. E., who, since he was ap-
pointed to superintend the Irish Ordnance Survey Office, has kindly

liv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

continued to render the Editor the same amount of assistance in iden-
tifying the positions of objects of antiquarian or historical interest on
the Ordnance Maps, as had been afforded by his predecessor.

He has also to express his acknowledgments to Charles P. O'H.
MacDonnell, Esq., M.R.I. A.; Charles J. O'Donel, Esq.; and Herbert
Hore, Esq., each of whom has furnished him with much important
and original information.

J. O'D.

EPISTLE DEDICATORY,

FROM

MICHAEL O'CLERY TO FEARGHAL O'GADHRA, LORD OF MAGH

UI GADHRA, ETC.

Oia ITYI cabaipc gacha I BESEECH God to bestow every

haoibnfp oo pachao i Ifp Da chupp, -| happiness that in ay redound to the wel-

Da anmain opfpgal o jaohpa cicch- fare of his body and soul, upon Fearghal

fpnalTlhaije uf jaopa,-) cuileo ppino, O'Gadhra, Lord of Magh Ui-Ghadhra

aon Don Diap Rioipfoh paplemence and Cuil-O-bhFinn, one of the two

po coghabh ap conoae Slicagh co knights pf Parliament who were elected

hat cliac an bliabain pi oaoipCpiopc, [and sent] from the county of Sligeach

1634. to Ath-cliath this year of the age of

Christ, 1634.

Qp nf cojccfno poilleip pon uile It is a thing general and plain

Dorhan in gach lonaoh i mbf uaiple no throughout the whole world, in every

onoipingach aimpip oaccaimccpiarh place where nobility or honour1 has

Diam i noiam nach ppuil nf ap slop- prevailed in each successive period,

maipe,-) apaipmiccnijeonopai5he(ap that nothing is more glorious, more

abbapaib lo'niDa) ina piop pfnoacra respectable, or more honourable (for

na pfnujoap, i eolap na naipeac, -] many reasons), than to bring to light

na nuapal po Bdoap ann ipm aimpip the knowledge of the antiquity of an-

1 Honour. — In a free translation of this Dedi- much of the redundance of O'Clery's language,

cation, made by Charles O'Conor, he rejects and improves on his expressions throughout.

lyi EPISTLE DEDICATORY.

,,finpo DO caba.pe DO cum rolair ap cient authors, and a knowledge of the
Da,5h co mbeic aiefncap, n eolar a5 chieftains and nobles that existed m
5ach opu,n5 . noeaohaio apoile cion- preceding times, in order that
nap DO caicpoc a pnnpp a pe i a successive generation might possess
naimpp,! cia haipfce po baecap , knowledge and information as to how
cciccfpnap a nDuichce, i noi5nic, no their ancestors spent their time and
i nonoip 01016 i nDiaioh, T cpeo i an life, how long they were successively
oioheab puaippocn. in the lordship of their countries, in

dignity or in honour, and what sort of
death they met.

Canaccpa an bpacaip bochc oupo I, Michael O'Clerigh, a poor brother
.8. pponpeip TTlichel o clepicch (iap of the order of St. Francis (after having
mbfic ofich mbliabna Dam ace Sccpio- been for ten years transcribing every old
bob gach pjioachca Da bpuapap ap material which I found concerning the
naomaib na hepeann a maille le hum- saints of Ireland, observing obedience
lace jach Ppoumpail Da paibe in to each provincial that was in Ireland
epmn a noiaib a cele oobfic accam) successively), have come before you,
DO bap lacaipp a uapail Ct phfpjail 0 noble Farrell O'Gara. I have cal-
uf jabpa. Do bpaicfp ap bap nonoip culated on your honour that it seemed
gup baobap cpuaije, -] riemele, 005- to you a cause of pity and regret, grief
ailp.i Dobpom libh (DO chum gloipe and sorrow (for the glory of God and
r>6 •) onopa na hepeann) a meo DO the honour of Ireland), how much the

race of Gaedhal the son of Niul have
gone under a cloud and darkness with-
out a knowledge of the death or obit
of saint or virgin, archbishop, bishop,
abbot, or other noble dignitary of the
Church, of king or prince, lord or
pip na coirhpnfoh neich oibhpiohe ppi chieftain [and] of the synchronism or

connexion of the one with the other.
I explained to you that I thought I
could get the assistance of the chroni-
clers for whom I had most esteem, for
writing a book of annals, in which the

Deacaccap pliocr ^aoiDil meic Niuil
po ciaij •) DopcaDap, jan piop ecca
na oibfba Naoim, na bannaoime
Qipoeppcoip, Gppcoip, na abbao, na
uapal spaiDh eccailp oile, Rij, na
Ruipij.cijeapna nacoipcch,comaim-

apoile. Oo poillpjfpa Daoibp
bo Doij Ifm 50 ppui jinn cuioiuccaD na
ccpoimci^e ap ap mo mo rhfp Do chum
leabaipQnnalaDDopccpfobabi ccuip-
pibe i ccuimne na nfice pempaice, ~\

EPISTLE DEDICATORY. Ivii

oa Ificcri ap caipoe gari a Sccpiobao aforesaid matters might be put on re-

00 laraip nach ppuighri IOD oopiDipi cord ; and that, should the writing of
le a ppopaicmfc,-] le a ccuimniuccab them be neglected at present, they
j;o cpich,i 50 poipcfrm an bfcha. Oo would not again be found to be put on
cpuinmccheao Ifm na leabaip Gnna- record or commemorated to the end
lab ap pfppi aplfonmaipe ap mo Do and termination of the world. There
bfioip Ifm opa^ail i nepinn uile (bioo were collected by me all the best and
gup bfccup Dam a ccfcclamaD 50 most copious books of annals that I
haom lonao) DO chum an leabaippi could find throughout all Ireland
DO pccpiobao in bap nainmpi,-] in bap (though it was difficult for me to col-
nonoip 6ip ap pib cucc luach paocaip ' lect them to one place), to write this
DO na cpomici&ib lap po pccpiobao e, book in your name, and to your ho-

1 bpaitrpe conuence Duin na ngall nour, for it was you that gave the re-
DO caich coprap bfoh, -j ppiorailrhe ward of their labour to the chroniclers,
piu map an cceona. ^acn niaic Da by whom it was written ; and it was
cnocpa Don leabop pin Da cabaipc the friars of the convent of Donegal
polaipp DO each i ccoiccchinne ap that supplied them with food and at-
ppibpi ap bfipche a buiohe,-] nip coip tendance in like manner. For every
maccnaD, no longnab CD no lomcnuc good that will result from this book,
DO bfic pa rhaicoa nomgenaD pib,6ip in giving light to all in general, it is
apoopiolGimipmeicTTlileaDjfinpioc to you that thanks should be given,
30 pijh DO piojaib epeann, -| a haen and there should exist no wonder or
apcpf picciboonaomaib;on:Ca65 pin surprise, jealousy" or envy, at [any]
macCein mic oiletla oluim op piolpac good that you do ; for you are of
a hocc oecc DO na naomaib pin ap the race of Heber mac Mileadh, from
eioip DO bpfir 6 jlun 50 jlun gup an whom descended thirty of the kings of
caog ceona. Ro gablaighpioc -\ po Ireland, and sixty-one saints ; and to
aiccpeabpac clann an UaiDg pin i Tadhg mac Cein mac Oilella Oluim,
nionaDaib e^arhla ap puD 6peann .i. from whom eighteen of these saints0

h Jealousy.— If O'Donnell were in the country under the name and patronage of any of the

at the time, he ought to have felt great envy rival race of Oilioll Olum, much less to so petty

and jealousy that the Four Masters should have a chieftain of that race as O'Gara. This will ap-

committed this work, which treats of the O'Don- pear obvious from the Contention of the Bards,

nells more than of any other family, to the world c Eighteen of these saints.— Charles O'Conor,

lyiii EPISTLE DEDICATORY.

Sliochc Copbma,c ^ailfng illui5hn,b are sprung, you can be traced, genera-

connacc op jemeabhaipp mumcip tion by generation. The descendants

5a6pa an Dei Ua Gajpa hi cconnac- of this Teige branched out, and mha-

co,bh,i ohfjpa anT?uca,OCeapbaill bited various parts throughout Ireland,

! nGle n o TTlfcha.p i nuib Caipfn, namely: the race of Cormac Gaileng

o concob'aip i

Oo 6fpba6 ap bap ccechcpa on
puil uapail pn a oubpamap ace po
bap njjemeatach,

CX phfpgail uf jaoyia,
Q rheic caiocc,
meic oilealla,
meic oiapmacca,
meic eojhain,
meic ompmaoa,
meic eojhain,
meic comalcaij oicc,
meic comalcaij moip,
meic Diapmacca,
meic Raijhne,
meic conjalatgh,
meic oumnplebe,

in Luighne-Connacht, from whom ye,
the Muintir-Gadhra, the twoUi Eaghra
in Connaught, and O'h-Eaghra of the
Bute, O'Carroll of Ely, O'Meachair in
Ui-Cairin, and O'Conor of Cianachta-
Glinne-Geimhin, are descended.

As a proof of your coming from this
noble blood we have mentioned, here
is your pedigree,

Oh Fearghal O'Gadhra, thou son of

Tadhg ! son of

Oilioll, son of

Diarmaid, son of

Eoghan, son of

Diarmaid, son of

Eoghan, son of

Tomaltach Og, son of

Tomaltach More, son of

Diarmaid, son of

Raighne, son of

Conghalach, son of

Donnsleibhe, son of

•who felt no qualm of conscience at reducing the
simple style of O'Clery to his own imitation of
Dr. Johnson, translates this passage in the fol-
lowing loose manner, without regard to the
construction of the original.

" In truth, every benefit derivable from our
labours is due to your protection and bounty ;

nor should it excite jealousy or envy that you
stand foremost in this as in other services you
have rendered your country ; for, by your birth,
you are a descendant of the race of Heber,
which gave Ireland thirty monarchs, and
sixty-one of which race died in the odour of
sanctity."

EPISTLE DEDICATORY.

lix

rneic

nieic ouinnplebe,

meic concobhaip,

meic Ruaipc,

meic 5a6pa, o ploinnreap mumcip

gaopa,

meic glecneacam,
meic Saopjapa,
meic bece,
meic plaiciopa,
meic raichligh,
meic cinopaolaio,
meic Diapmaoa,
meic pionnb'aipp,
meic bpenamn,
meic naccppaoic,
meic pioeoin,
meic pioocuipe,
meic aipr cuipb,
meic niab cuipb,
meic luf o nainmnijceap luighne,

meic

meic cem,

meic oilella oluim,

meic moba nuaoac,

meic mo&a nficc,

meic ofipcc,

meic ofipcccfmeab,

meic enoa moncaom,

meic loich moip,

meic mopebip,

meic muipfoaij mucna,

meic eacbac

Ruaidhri, son of

Donsleibhe, son of

Conchobhar, son of

Ruarc, son of

Gadhra, from whom the Muintir-

Gadhra are surnamed, son of
Glethnechan, son of
Saerghas, son of
Bee, son of
Flaithius, son of
Taichleach, son of
Cinnfaeladh, son of
Diarmaid, son of
Finnbharr, son of
Brenann, son of
Nadfraech, son of
Fiden, son of
Fidhchuir, son of
Art Corb, son of
Niadh Corb, son of
Lui, from whom the Luighne are

named, son of
Tadhg, son of
Cian, son of
Oilioll Olum, son of
Modh Nuadhat, son of
Modh Neid, son of
Derg, son of
Deirgtheineadh, son of
Enda Monchaoin, son of
Loich Mor, son of
Mofebis, son of
Muiredhach Muchna, son of
Eochaidh Garv, son of

h2

Ix

EPISTLE DEDICATORY.

meic ouaic Dalca oeaohaoh,

meic caipppe luipcc,

meic lonnaccmaip,

meic ma pebamain,

meic aoamaip polrcain,

meic pipcuipb,

meic mo6a cuipb,

meic cobraij caoim,

meic pfccaba pijofipcc,

meic luijofc IdijiD,

meic eachoach,

meic oilealla,

meic aipr,

meic lui jofc lairhoeipcc,

meic eacoac uaipcep,

meic luijoec lapDuino,
meic enoa Deipcc,
meic ouaich pmn,
meic Seona lonnappaij,
meic bpfippigh,
meic aipc imlij,
meic pfiblimib,
meic Roceccaij,
meic Roam pfjailij,
meic pailbe lolcopaij,
meic caip ceocoimgnij,
meic pailofpccooio,
meic mumeamoin,
meic caip clocai j,
meic pip apoa,
meic Roceccaij,
meic Poppa,
meic glaipp,
meic nuaoac ofglam,

Duach Dalta Deadhadh, son of
Cairbre Lose, son of
Innadmhar, son of
Nia Sedhamuin, son of
Adamar Foltchain, son of
Fercorb, son of
Modh Corb, son of
Cobhthach Caemh, son of
Kechtadh Righdhearg, son of
Lughaidh Lagha, son of
Eochaidh, son of
Oilioll, son of
Art, son of

Lughaidh Laimhdhearg, son of
Eochaidh Uairches, son of

Lughaidh lardhunn, son of

Enda Dearg, son of

Duach Finn, son of

Sedna Innarrach, son of

Bresrigh, son of

Art Imleach, son of

Feidhlimidh, son of

Rothechtach, son of

Roan Righaileach, son of

Failbhe lolcorach, son of

Cas Cedcoimhgneach.

Faildeargdoid, son of

Muineamhon, son of

Cas Clothach, son of

Ferarda, son of

Rothechtach, son of

Ross, son of

Glass, son of

Nuadhat Deaghlamh, son of

EPISTLE DEDICATORY.

Ixi

meic eacDac poobapglaip,

meic conmaoil,

meic eimhip pirm,

meic milea6 eppainne,

meic bile,

meic bpeojcnn,

meic bpacha,

meic oeaacha,

meic eapcaDa,

meic alooiD,

meic nuaDaicr,

meic ninuail,

meic eimip jlaip,

meic agnoin pino,

meic eimip gluinpmD,

meic laimpinn,

meic agnamam, ec cecepa.

Gn t>apa la pichfc DO mi lanuapg
anno Domini 1632, DO cionnpgnaoh an
leabop po i cconueinc Ohnin na njall,
-] Do cpiochnaighfoh ipm cconueinr
ceona an Deachmaoh la oaugupc,
1636. Qn caonmaD bbabain oecc DO
pijhe ap Righ Cappolup op Sa^ain,
Ppainc, Qlbain, -] op Gipinn.

6hap ccapa lonmain,

michee, o

Eochaidh Faebharghlas, son of

Comnael, son of

Eimher Finn, son of

Mileadh, son of

Bile, son of

Breogan, son of

Bratha, son of

Death a, son of

Earchadh, son of

Aldod, son of

Nuadhat, son of

Ninual, son of

Eimher Glas, son of

Agnon Finn, son of

Eimhir Gluinfinn, son of

Laimhfmn, son of

Agnaman.

On the twenty-second day of the
month of January, Anno Domini 1632,
this book was commenced in the
convent of Dun-na-nGall ; and it was
finished in the same convent on the
tenth day of August, 1636, the eleventh
year of the reign of our King Charles
over England, France, Alba, and over

Eire.

Your affectionate friend,

BROTHER MICHAEL O'CLERY.

APPROBATIONS OF THE WORK.

na haichpe DO UpD .3. J.HE fathers of the Franciscan order

Pponpeip chuippfp a lamha ap po who shall put their hands on this

050 piaohnujhaoh gup ab e pfpghal do bear witness that it was Fearghal

6 5aDnna cucc aP an mbpachaip O'Gadhra that prevailed on Brother

TTIichel o Clepicch na CpomiciDe -] Michael O'Clerigh to bring together

an caop ealaohna DO chpuinDiujab the chroniclers and learned men, by

co haoin lonaoh lap po pccpiobhaoh whom were transcribed the books of

leabhcnp oipip -\ Gnnala na hGpiono history and Annals of Ireland (as much

(an riificc pob eioip opaghail le a of them as it was possible to find to be

pccpiobaoh Diob) i j;op ab e an pfp- transcribed), and that it was the same

ghal ceona cucc loighioeachc boib Fearghal that gave them a reward* for

ap a pccpiobhaoh. their writing.

Qca an leabhap panoca ap 66, The book is divided into two [parts].

Ctp e ionaoh in po p^piobaoh e 6 chup The place at which it was transcribed,

co Dfipfoh i cconuenc bpachap Oum from beginning to end, was the convent

• Gave them a reward. — Charles O'Conor trans- them liberally for their labour."

lates this loosely, as follows : The reader will, however, observe that thene

" The fathers of the Franciscan Order, sub- are no words in the original Irish of O'Clery

scribers hereunto, do certify that Ferall O'Gara to correspond with O'Conor's nobleman or liber-

was the nobleman who prevailed on Brother Mi- ally, here marked in Italics. The Editor has

chael O'Clery to bring together the antiquaries discovered no clue to determine how libe-

and chronologers, who compiled the following rally O'Gara paid the chroniclers, but feels

Annals (such as it was in their power to collect), satisfied that the sum he paid them was very

and that Ferrall O'Gara, aforesaid, rewarded, trifling.

lxiv APPROBATIONS OF THE WORK.

na n5all, ap a mb,a6n ap a bFpioch- of the Friars of Dun-na-nGall, they

a,lfmh Ooc,onnrCcna6lDopccp,o- supplying food and attendance. The

baoh an c6,o leabhap be ,pnConuenc first book was begun and transcribed

chfccna an blia6am p 1632, «" ran in the same convent this year, 1632,

po ba6 5a,po,an an cacha.p bepnap- when Father Bernardme O Clery was

om 6 Clepicch. Guardian.

Qr race na Cpo.nicibe, i an caop The chroniclers and learned men who

ealaohna DO bdccap ace pccpiobaoh were engaged in extracting and tran-

an leabaip pin, 1 a5a chf5lamaoh a scribing this book from various books,

leabpatb eccparhla an bpachaip TTlf- were : Brother Michael O'Clerigh ;

chel 6 Clepicch, TTluipip mac Copna Maurice, the son of Torna O'Mael-

iri TTlhaoilconaipe ppi pe aoin miopa ; chonaire, for one month ; Ferfeasa, the

pfppfpa mac Lochlamo uf TTlaofl- son of Lochlainn O'Maelchonaire, both

chonaipe.iaiccpoheina nofp a concae of the county of Ros Chomain ; Cucog-

Roppa commain, Cucoigcpiche 6 cle- criche O'Clerigh, of the county of Dun-

picch a concae Ohum na ngall, cucoi- na-nGall ; Cucoigcriche O'Duibhgen-

jcpiche oDuibgCnDdinaconcaeliach nain, of the county of Liath-druim ;

Dpoma,-| conaipe 6 clepicch a concae and Conaire O'Clerigh, of the county

Duin no ngalt. of Donegal.

Q ciao na p fmleabaip po bhacop These are the old books they had :
oca, leabhap cluana tnic noip in po thebooko.fCluain-mic-Noisb, [a church]
bfhnaijNaoirhchiapdnTnac ancpaofp. blessed by Saint Ciaran, son of the
Leabap oilem na nafm pop loch Ribh, carpenter ; the book of the Island of
Leabhap Shfnaioh mec TTlaghnuppa Saints0, in Loch Ribh ; the book of Sea-
pop Loch Gpne Leabap cloinne tii nadh Mic Maghnusad, in Loch Erne ;

b The book of Cluain-mic-Nois. — The original know the present representative of theLismoyny
of this is now unknown ; but there are several branch. The Editor has added from this trans-
copies of a translation of it, made in 1627, by lation many long passages omitted by the Four
Connell Mageoghegan, Esq., of Lismoyny, in the Masters.

countj of Westmeath, one in the British Mu- c The book of the Island of all Saints This

seum, another in the Library of Trinity College, manuscript is now unknown.

Dublin, F. 3. 19, a third in the library of the " Book of Seanadh Mic Maghnusa Now called

Marquis of Drogheda, and others in the hands the Annals of Ulster See note ', under the

of private individuals. The original was in the year 1307, p. 489 ; note ", under 1408, p. 795 ;

Mageoghegan family, but the Editor does not and note \ under the year 1498, p. 1240, infra.

APPROBATIONS OF THE WORK.

Ixv

TTlaoilconaipe,Lebap muincepeOuib-
Sfnndin chillel?6ndin,-] leabap oipipfn
Leacain meic pipbipicch ppfch chuca
mp pcpiobhaoh upriioip an leab'aip, -\
ap po pcpiobhpacc jach lionmaip-
eachc oa bpuaippfcr (Ranjacop a
Ifp) nac paibe ip na ceicc leabpaib
bdcop aca, ap nf Baof i leabap cluana,
ina pop i leabhap an oilem ache jup
an mbliaoam pi oaoip ap ccijhfpna
1227.

the book of the Claim Ua Maelcho-
naire0; the book of the O'Duigenans,
of Kilronanf; the historical book of
Lecan Mic Firbisighg, which was pro-
cured for them after the transcription
of the greater part of the book [work],
and from which they transcribed every
copious matter they found which they
deemed necessary, which was not in
the first books they had, for neither the
book of Cluain, nor the book of the
Island, were [carried] beyond the year
of the age of our Lord, 1227.

Seanadh Mic Maims, now Belleisle, is aD island
in Lough Erne, the property of the Rev. Gray
Porter, who has recently erected a house upon
it.

' The book of the Clann Ua Maelchonaire. —
Now unknown. It is frequently quoted by
O'Flaherty, in his marginal additions to the
copy of these Annals, preserved in the Library
of Trinity College, Dublin, H. 2. 11.

' The book of the Muinrdir-Duibhgennain of
Cill-Ronain, — There is a most curious and valu-
able manuscript volume of Irish annals, which
was in the possession of the O'Duigenans, pre-
served in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin,
H. 1. 19; but it does not appear to be the one
used by the Four Masters. It perfectly accords
with all the passages quoted by Ware and Harris
from the Annals of Lough Kee ; and it may be
safely conjectured that it is a compilation made
by the O'Duigenans from the Annals of Lough
Kee, Roscommon, and Kilronan. The Editor has
made copious additions to the work of the Four
Masters from this manuscript, calculated to
throw much light on historical facts but slightly
touched upon by the Masters themselves.

g The historical book of Lecan Mic Firbisigh. —
This book is now unknown ; but there is a good
abstract of some annals, which belonged to the
Mac Firbises, made by the celebrated Duald
Mac Firbis, now preserved in the Library of
Trinity College, Dublin, H. 1. 18. This abstract
is styled Chronicum Scotorum by the transcriber,
who states that he shortened or abstracted it
from a larger work of the Mac Firbises, omitting
every thing, except what relates to the Scoti or
Milesians. The same Duald, or Dudley, also
translated, in the year 1666, a portion of the
Annals of Ireland, extending from 1443 to 1468,
for the use of Sir James Ware. This translation
has been recently printed for the Irish Archaeo-
logical Society. — See the Miscellany, p. 198, and
the Editor's notes, pp. 263-302. From this
translation the Editor has supplied, in the
notes, many passages omitted by the Four Mas-
ters.

The Annals of the Mac Firbises are also fre-
quently quoted by O'Flaherty, in his marginal
additions to the Trinity College copy of the
Annals of the Four Masters, all which additions
the Editor has printed in the notes.

lxvi APPROBATIONS OF THE WORK.

Do cionnpccnaoh an oapa leabhap The second book [volume], which

oapab copach an bliaoain pi 1208, an begins with the year 1208, was com-

blmbain pi oaoipCpiopcmpobasaip- menced this year of the age of Christ,

omn an cachaip Cpiopcoip Ulcach 1635, in which Father Christopher

1635,1 oo pccpiobaoh an chum oile Ultach [Donlevy] was guardian, and

6e 50 1608 an cheo bliaoam in po the other part of it, to the year 1608,

baoh sapoian an cachaip bepnapom was transcribed the first year in which

O Clepicch oopioipi. Qn bpachaip Father Bernardin O'Clerigh, Brother

TTlicel O Clepijjh a oub'pamop, Cu- Michael O'Clerigh aforesaid, Cucoig-

coicccpiche 6 Clepijh -| Conaipe 6 criche O'Clerigh, and Conaire O'Cle-

Clepicch oo pcpiobh an leabap oeioh- righ, transcribed the last book [vo-

fnach ochd 1332 50 1608. Qp lac lume], from 1332 to 1608. These are

no leabaip ap po pcpiobpac an cpiap the books from which these three tran-

pempdiceuprhop an leabaip, an leabap scribed the greatest part of this book :

cfcna pin clomne uf ITlaoilconaipe 50 the same book of the O'Mulconrys, as

mile cuicc ceo a 01115, 1 aP ' r'n an ^ar as ^e 7ear one thousand five hun-

bliabam ofiofnach baoi ano, leabap dred and five, and this was the last year

no muincipe ouibhsfnocm cap a ccan- which it contained ; the book of the

jamap o chd naoi cceo 50 mile cuicc O'Duigenans, of which we have spoken,

ceo Seapccacc a cpi, Ceabap SeanaiD from [the year] nine hundred to one

mec TTlashnupa ma paib'e co TTlile thousand five hundred sixty-three ; the

cuicc ceo cpiochac ao6, blab DO book of Seanadh-Mic Maghnusa, which

leabap Choncoicccpiche meic Diap- extended to one thousand five hundred

macca mic Uamhg caimm ui clepigh thirty-two ; a portion of the book of

on mbliaoain pi TTlfle oa cheo, ochc- Cucogry, the son of Dermoth, son of

mojhacc a haon, co mile cuicc ceo Tadhg Cam O'Clerigh, from the year

cpiochacc a Seachc, Leabap TTlec one thousand two hundred and eighty-

bpuaiofoha TTlhaolin oicc on mbliab- one, to one thousand five hundred and

am pi 171 ile, cuij ceo, ochcmoghac a thirty-seven ; the book of Mac Bru-

hochc, 50 mile 86 ceo a cpi, Leabhap aideadha1 (Maoilin Og) from the year

h Cucogry, son of Dermot.—Re was the great- He flourished about the year 1537. His book

grandfather of Cucogry or Peregrine O'Clery, is now unknown,

one of the Four Masters. -See Genealogies, ' The book of Mac

Inbes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, p. 83. to the Editor.

APPROBATIONS OF THE WORK.

Ixvii

Lughach uf clepish, 6 TTlhfle, cuicc
ceo, ochcniojhac, a Se, 50 ITli'le, Se
cheD a DO.

Oo chonncamop na leabaip pin uile
05 an afp ealaona cap a ccansamop
Roriiamn •] leabaip oipipfn oile nach
mcc po ba6 eirhelc oammniujaD. Oo
ofpbao gac nee Dap pcpiobaoh annpin
Romainn Gcaimne na pfppanna po
pfop 05 cop ap lam ap po hi cconuenc
Ohum na ngall an oeachmao la Do
Qujupc, aoip Chpiopc TTlile, 8e cheo,
rpiochar a Se.

FB. BEKNARDINUS CLEKY,

Guardianus Dungalensis.

bpacaip TTluipip Ullcach.

bparaip TTluipip Ullcac.

bpacaip bonauancupa o Oorhnill,
Leacoip lubilac.

one thousand five hundred eighty-eight,
to one thousand six hundred and three ;
the book of Lughaidh O'Clerigh, from
one thousand five hundred eighty-six,
to one thousand six hundred two.

We have seen all these books with the
learned men, of whom we have spoken
before, and other historical books be-
sides them. In proof of every thing
which has been written above, the fol-
lowing persons are putting their hands
on this, in the convent of Donegal, the
tenth day of August, the age of Christ
one thousand six hundred thirty-six.

BROTHER BERNARDINE O'CLERY,

Guardian of Donegal.
BROTHER MAURICE ULLTACH,
BROTHER MAURICE ULLTACH,
BROTHER BONA VENTURA O'DoNNELLk,
Jubilate Lector.

k Brother Bonaventura G'Donnell. — This was
made O'Donnell (Prince of Tirconnell) in the
translation used by Mr. Petrie. Manus, son of
Sir Niall Garve, and Hugh O'Donnell of Ramel-
ton, who was a member of the Parliament of

the Confederate Catholics, held at Kilkenny on
the 10th of January, 1647, were the most dis-
tinguished members of the family at this period,
but neither of them appears to have patronized
this work.

i2

Ixviii

APPROBATIONS OF THE WORK.

The Mowing approbations of the work of the Four Masters are
prefixed to the copy in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, in the
handwriting of the scribe. The autograph originals of the same are
in the copy deposited in the College of St. Isidore, at Rome, as the
Editor was informed by the late Dr. Lyons, of Kilmore-Erns.

Oo Bfcin 50 ccdinic an bpdcaip Whereas the poor friar, Michael

bocc TTlicel O Cleipij (maille le O'Clery (in obedience to his superior,

humlacc a uaccapdm, an cacaip Father Joseph Everard, Provincial of

lopeph Guepapo, ppouinpial Uipo the Order of St. Francis in Ireland)

8. Ppoinpeip i nGpino), oom lonn- came to me to shew me this book, — I1,

paicchib DO caipben an leabaip pi Flann, son of Cairbre Mac Aedhagain,

bam,— acupa plarm, mac Caipppe of Baile-Mhic- Aedhagain, in the county

TTlic Qebaccdm, 6 bhaile TTlhic deb- of Tibrat-Arann, DO TESTIFY THAT,—

accdin, i cconcae Chiobpac-Clpann, though many were the books of history

05 d piabnuccab, jep bo hiomba lea- of the old books of Ireland which I

bap aipip DO connapc DO peinleabpaib saw, and though numerous the uncer-

Gpeann, "| jep bo Uonrhap an nuimip tain number of ancient and modern

eccince DO leabpaib aopoa -| nem- books which I saw written and being

aopoa, pgpiobca, -| acca p^pfobab oo transcribed in the school of John, son

connapc i pcoil Seaam mic Uopna Ui of Torna Ua Maelchonaire, the tutor

TTlhaoilconaipe, oioe peap nGpeann of the men of Ireland in general in his-

hi ccoiccmne, hi pencup -| hi ccpomic, tory and chronology, and who had all

1 aga mbdoap a paib i nGpmn 05 poj- that were in Ireland learning that sci-

lam na healabna pin 50 ceaccapc ence under his tuition, — I HAVE NOT

aicce, nac peacabap ecoppa pin uile seen among them all any book of better

aon leabap ap peapp opo, ap coic- order, more general, more copious, or

cinne, ap Ifonmaipe, -\ ap mo ap in- more to be approved of, as a book of

riiolca map leabap aipip -| annal, ind history and annals, than this book. I

an leabap pa. Uleapaini pop nac think also that no intelligent person

1 1 , do testify. — Dr. O'Conor, mistaking the meaning of acu-pa, the old form of aruimpe,

/ am, translates this te — testante.

APPROBATIONS OF THE WORK.

Ixix

eioip le ouine ap bic cuiccp lonac no
cuain no oeglaip, nole healabam, Da
lei£pe e a lochruccab. Oo bepbab
an neire pempdice acdm accpccpibab
mo laime aip po ipm mbaile TTlhic
Gebaaccdm a oubapc, 2. Nouemb.
1636.

plann TTlac Q 000501 n.

whatever, of the laity or clergy, or of
the professions, who shall read it, can
possibly find fault with it. In attesta-
tion of which thing aforesaid, I here
put my hand on this, at the Baile-Mhic-
Aedhagain aforesaid, the 2nd of No-
vember, 1636.

FLANN MAC AODHAGAIN.

Udmic an bpdcaip bocc TTlicel
O Clepig, amaille le humplacc a
uacoapdin, an cacaip lopeph Gue-
papo, Ppouinpial Uipo S. phpoinpeip,
com laraip Do lecchab ~\ DO caipbe-
nab an leabaip aipip i annalab Do
P5pfobab laip ~| lap an aoip ealabna
oile, ipa lama aca aip, ~\ lap na peu-
cain i lap na bpeacnujab bam, acupa
TTlac bpuameaba, Concobap, mac
TTlaoilin Oig 6 Chill Chaoioe -| 6
Leicip TTlaolam i cconcae an Chldip,
agd piabnujab 50 bpuil an leabap
mmolca.i na cumain linn leabap aipip
no annal opaicpm ap mo ap peapp ~\
aplionmaipe coicchmne apGpinn uile
ma an leabap po,-| gup ab Doilij coi-
beim, locDujao na incpeacab opajail
aip. Dobeapbabap a noubapcacdim
05 cup mo laime aip i cCill Chaoioe,
ii Nou. 1636.

CONNER MAC BRODY, Da ngoiprep
TTlac bpuaoan.

The poor friar, Michael O'Clery, in
obedience to his superior, Father Jo-
seph Everard, Provincial of the Order
of St. Francis, came before me to read
and exhibit the book of history and
annals written by himself and the other
professional men, whose hands are upon
it ; and after having viewed and exa-
mined it, I, Mac Bruaidin-Conchobhar,
son of Maeilin Og of Cill-Chaeide [Kil-
keedy] and Leitir-Maelain, in the county
of Clare, Dp TESTIFY that this book is
recommendable, and that we do not
remember having seen a book of his-
tory or annals larger, better, or more
generally copious in treating of all Ire-
land, than this book; and that it is
difficult to find fault with, censure, or
criticise it. To attest what I have said,
I now put my hand upon it at Cill-
Chaeide, the llth November, 1636.

CONNER MAC BRODY, called
MAC BRUODIN.

APPROBATIONS OF THE WORK.

; - Vis. testimoniis et approbationibus eorum qui pra.cipui sunt Antiquarn
Rerun, nostrarum, et lingua, ac historic peritissim* ac expert,^, de
et intestate fratris Michaelis O'Cleri, Ordinis Seraph1C1 S. France, in opere
quod intitulatur, Angles Regni Hibemi* in duas partes dmso, quarum pnma
continet a diluvio ad annum Christi Millesimum ducentesimum vigesimum septi-
mum secunda vero continet ad milesimum sexcentesimum octavum, colligendo,
castigando, et illustrando,-Nos Malachias, Dei et Apostolic* Sedis gratia, Ar-
chiepiscopus Tuamensis, et Connaci* Primas, prarfatum opus approbamus
dignissiinum ut in lucem reddatur, ad Dei gloriam, Patrias honorem, <
munem utilitatem censemus.

" Datum Galvias 14 Cal. Decembris, 1636.

" MALACHIAS, AECHIEPISCOPUS TUAMENSIS™."

" Visis testimoniis, et authenticis peritorum approbationibus, do hoc opere,
per Fr. Michaelem Clery Ordinis Laicum fratrem collecto, libenter iUud appro-
bamus, ut in publicum lucem edatur.

"Datum Ros-rield, 27 Novemb. 1636.

" FK. BOETIUS" ELPHIN, Eps.

" Opus cui titulus Annales Regni Hiberniw a Fr. Michaele Clery, Laico
Ordinis S. Francisci de observantia, summa fide exaratum, prout testantur
Synographa Virorum Doctissimorum, quibus merito Nos multum deferentes,
illud praelo dignissum censemus.

" Actum Dublinii, 8 Febr. 1636.

" FK. THOMAS FLEMING, Arch. Dublin, Hibernwe Primas!'

" De hoc Opere quod intitulatur Annales Regni Hibernice, in duas partes
diviso, quarum prima continet a Diluvio ad annum Christi 1227, secundo vero
continet ad millesimum sexcentesimum octavum, quern Fr. Michael Clery

m Malachias, Archiepiscopus Tuamensis. — He naught, pp. 74, 93.

•was Malachy O'Cadhla, or O'Keely, Roman Ca- " Boetius. — He was Boetius Baethghalach Mac

tholic or titular Archbishop of Tuam — See Aedhagain, or Mac Egan, Roman Catholic Bishop

Hardiman's edition of O'Flaherty's West Con- of Elphin.

APPROBATIONS OF THE WORK. Ixxi

Ordinis S. Francisci, ad communem patriot utilitatera collegit, non aliter cen-
semus quam censores a Rev. admodum Patre Provincial! ejus Fratris D. Flo-
rentius Kegan et D. Cornelius Bruodin, pro eodem opere inspiciendo, exami-
nando, et approbando vel reprobando assignati, judicaverunt, et decreverunt.
Nos enim eosdem tanquam peritissimos lingua? Hiberuicas, et in omnibus His-
toriis et Patriaj Chronologiis versatissimos existimamus. Quapropter illorum
censuras, et judicio de prefato opere fratris M. Clery, in omnibus confirmamus.
In quorum fidem, his manu propria subscripsimus. Datum in loco nostns
mansionis die 8 Jan. A. D. 1637.

" FR. ROCHUS KlLDARENS."

B

emeaNN.

oomam juy> an mbliabomp na oiteano, DO rhile oa ceao ba picfc -|
DO bliabom. Ceacpaca la pia noilinn cainig Cearoip 50 hGipinn, 50 ccaogaio
ranjfn, -, 50 ccpiap bpfp, bioc, Labpa, i pioneoin a nanmanna. Ctobar
La6pa i nClpo Labpann,-] ap uab ammnijcfp. ba hfipbe cfona mapb 6pionn.
Qcbach bioc i Sleb bfca, co po habnacc i cCapn Slebe bfca, conaD uab

m The age of the world. — This is according to
the computation of the Septuagint, as given by
St. Jerome in his edition of the Chronicon of
Eusebius, from whom, no doubt, the Four Mas-
ters took this date. His words are : "AbAdam
usque ad Diluvium anni sunt MMCCXLII.
Secundum Hebrseorum numerum MDCLVI."

According to the Annals of Clonmacnoise and
various ancient Irish historical poems, 1656 years
had elapsed from the Creation to the Flood, which
was the computation of the Hebrews — See
Keating's History of Ireland (Haliday's edition,
p. 145), and Dr. O'Conor's Prolegomena ad An-
nales, p. li., and from p. cxxvii. to cxxxv.

b Ceasair This story of the coming of

Ceasair, the grand- daughter of Noah, to Ire-
land, is given in the Book of Leinster, fol. 2, b ;
in all the copies of the Book of Invasions ;
in the Book of Fenagh ; and in Giraldus Cam-
brensis's Topographia Hibernica, dist. ii. c. 1 . It
is also given in Mageoghegan's translation of
the Annals of Clonmacnoise ; but the translator
remarks : " my author, Eochy O'Flannagan,
giveth no credit to that fabulous tale." Hanmer

also gives this story, as does Keating ; but they
do not appear to believe it, " because," says the
latter, " I cannot conceive how the Irish anti-
quaries could have obtained the accounts of
those who arrived in Ireland before the Flood,
unless they were communicated by those aerial
demons, or familiar sprites, who waited on them
in times of paganism, or that they found them
engraved on stones after the Deluge had sub-
sided." The latter opinion had been propounded
by Giraldus Cambrensis (ubi supra), in the
twelfth century : " Sed forte in aliqua materia
inscripta, lapidea scilicet vel lateritia (sicut de
arte Musica legitur ante diluvium) inventa isto-
rum memoria, fuerat reseruata."

O'Flaherty also notices this arrival of Ceasair,
"forty days before the Flood, on the 15th day
of the Moon, being the Sabbath." In the Chro-
nicon Scotorum, as transcribed by Duald Mac
Firbis, it is stated that this heroine was a daugh-
ter of a Grecian. The passage runs as follows :

" Kl. u. f. 1. x. M. ix. c. ix. Anno Mundi. In
hoc anno venit filia alicvjus de Greets ad Hiber-
niam, cui women Heru vel Berbha [Banbha], vel

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

THE Age of the Worlda, to this Year of the Deluge, 2242. Forty days
before the Deluge, Ceasair" came to Ireland0 with fifty girls and three men ;
Bith, Ladhra, and Fintain, their names. Ladhra died at Ard-Ladhrannd, and
from him it is named. He was the first that died' in Ireland. Bith died at
Sliabh Beathaf, and was interred in the earn of Sliabh Beatha6, and from him

Cesar, et Lfilice, et in. viri cum ea. Ladhra guber-
nator fuit qui primus in Hibernia tumulatus est.
Hoc non narrant Antquarii Scotorum."

c Ireland. — According to the Book of Lecan,
foL 272, a, the Leabhar-Gabhala of the O'Clerys,
and Keating's History of Ireland, they put in at
Dun-na-mbarc, in Corca-Duibhne, now Corca-
guiny, a barony in the west of Kerry. There
is no place in Corcaguiny at present known as
having borne the name ; and the Editor is of
opinion that " Corca Duibhne" is an error of
transcribers for " Corca-Luighe," and that the
place referred to is Dun-na-m-barc, in Corca-
Luighe, nowDunamark, in the parish of Kilcom-
moge, barony of Bantry, and county of Cork.

d Ard-Ladlirann : L e. Ladhra' s Hill or Height.
This was the name of a place on the sea coast, in
the east of the present county of Wexford. The
name is now obsolete ; but the Editor thinks
that it was applied originally to Ardamine, in
the east of the county of Wexford, where there

is a curious moat near the sea coast See Col-

gan's Ada. Sanctorum, pp. 210, 217, and Duald
Mac Firbis's Genealogical work (Marquis of

B

Drogheda's copy, pp. 23, 210, 217). The tribe
of Cinel-Cobhthaigh were seated at this place.

e The first that died, $c. — Literally, "the first
dead [man] of Ireland." Dr. O' Conor renders
this : " Occisus est Ladra apud Ard-Ladron, et
ab eo nominatur. Erat ista prima occisio in
Hibernia." But this is very incorrect, and shews
that this translator had no critical knowledge
of the language of these Annals. Connell Ma-
geoghegan, who translated the Annals of Clon-
macnoise in 1627, renders itthus: " He was the
first that ever dyed in Ireland, of whom Ard-
Leyrenn (where he died, and was interred) took
the name."

f Sliabh Beatha: i. e. Bith's Mountain. Now
anglice Slieve Beagh, a mountain on the confines

of the counties of Fermanagh and Monaghan

Seethe second part of these Annals, note", under
the year 1501, p. 1260.

8 Cam of Sliabh Beatha — This earn still exists,
and is situated on that part of the mountain of
Slieve Beagh which extends across a portion of
the parish of Clones belonging to the county
of Fermanagh. — See note n, under A. D. 1593. If

Ric-shachca

[2527-

paiciop in pliab. Clcbach Ceapoip i cCuil Cfppa hi cConDachcaib, 50 po
habnachc hi cCapn Cfppa. lp 6 pioncoin cpa peapc pioncoin op Loch
Ofipjoeipc.

O Oilmo 50 po gab papralon 6pe 278, -\ aoip Domain an can Do piachc
ince, 2520.

Qoip Domain an can cainij papcalon i nGpmn, Da mile cuicc ceD •] pice
bliabom. Clciao na coipij baDap laip, Slamge, Laijlinne -\ Rubpmbe, a cpf
mfic, Dealccnac, Nepba, Ciocba, -\ CfpbnaD a ccfceopa mna.

Qoip Domain, Da mile cuijj ceo pice a pfchc. pea mac Uopcon, mic Spu
DO 65 an bliabompi hi TTluij pea, i po ha&nachc i nOolpoib TTloije pea,
conab uaba ainmnijceap an maj.

Qoip Domain, Da mile cuicc ceo cpiocha. lp an mbliabainpe po cuipfb
in chfo each i n6pinn .1. Cioccal ^pijfncopach, mac <5ui^lj ™'c <5aipk opo-
mopchuib, i a rhacaip cangacop i nGpinn, occ ccfo a lion, 50 po cinpfb cac

this earn be ever explored, it may furnish evi-
dences of the true period of the arrival of Bith.

11 Carn-Ceasra, in Connaught 0' Flaherty

states in his Ogygia, part iii. c. i., that Knock-
mea, a hill in the barony of Clare, and county
of Galway, is thought to be this Carn-Ceasra,
and that Cuil-Ceasra was near it. This hill has
on its summit a very ancient earn, or sepulchral
heap of stones ; but the name of Ceasair is not
remembered in connexion with it, for it is
believed that this is the earn of Finnbheara,
who is believed by the peasantry to be king of
the fairies of Connaught. Giraldus Cambrensis
states (ubi supra) that the place where Ceasair
was buried was called Ccesarce tumulus in his
own time : " Littus igitur in quo navis ilia
primum applicuit, nauicularum littus vocatur,
& in quo prafata tumulata est Csesara usque
hodie Caesarae tumulus nominatur." But O'Fla-
herty's opinion must be wrong, for in Eochaidh
O'Flynn's poem on the early colonization of
Ireland, as in the Book of Leinster, fol. 3, Carn-
Ceasra is placed "op 6uiU mfpr-aib" over the
fruitful [River] Boyle. It is distinctly stated

in the Leabhar Gabhala of the O'Clerys that
Carn- Ceasair was on the bank of the River Boyle
[6uill], and that Cuil-Ceasra was in the same
neighbourhood. Cuil-Ceasra is mentioned in
the Annals of Kilronan, at the year 1571, as on
the River Boyle.

i Feart-Fintan : i. e. Fintain's Grave. This
place, which was . otherwise called Tultuine, is
described as in the territory of Aradh, over
Loch Deirgdheirc, now Lough Derg, an expan-
sion of the Shannon, between Killaloe and Por-
tumna. According to a wild legend, preserved
in Leabhar-na-h- Uidhri, in the Library of the
Royal Irish Academy, this Fintan survived the
Deluge, and lived till the reign of Dermot, son
of Fergus Ceirbheoil, having during this period
undergone various transmigrations ; from which
O'Flaherty infers that the Irish Druids held the
doctrine of the Metempsychosis : " Ex hao
autem fabula colligere est Pythagoricae ac Pla-
tonics; scholse de animarum migratione, seu in
queevis corpora reditu deliramenta apud Ethni-
cos nostros viguisse." — Ogygia, p. 4.

This Fintan is still remembered in the tradi-

2527.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

the mountain is named. Ceasair died at Cuil-Ceasra, in Connaught, and was
interred in Carn-Ceasra". From Fintan is [named] Feart-Fintain', over Loch
Deirgdheirc.

From the Deluge until Parthalon took possession of Ireland 278 years ; and
the age of the world when he arrived in it, 2520.

The age of the world" when Parthalon came into Ireland, 2520 years.
These were the chieftains who were with him : Slainge, Laighlinne, and Rudh-
raidhe, his three sons ; Dealgnat, Nerbha, Ciochbha, and Cerbnad, their four
wives.

The Age of the World, 2527. Fea, son of Torton, son of Sru, died this
year at Magh-Fea', and was interred at Dolrai-Maighe-Fea ; so that it was from
him the plain is named.

The Age of the World, 2530. In this year the first battle was fought in
Ireland ; i. e. Cical Grigenchosach, son of Goll, son of Garbh, of the Fomorians,
and his mother1", came into Ireland, eight hundred in number, so that a battle
was fought between them [and Parthalon's people] at Sleamhnai-Maighe-Ithe",

ticms of the country as the Mathusalem of Ire-
land ; and it is believed in Connaught that he
was a saint, and that he was buried at a locality
called Kilfintany, in the south of the parish of
Kilcommon, barony of Erris, and county of
Mayo. Dr. Hanmer says that this traditional
fable gave rise to a proverb, common in Ireland
in his own time, " If I had lived Fintati^s years,
I could say much."

k The age of the world. — The Annals of Clon-
macnoise synchronize the arrival of Parthalon
with the twenty-first year of the age of the
Patriarch Abraham, and the twelfth year of
the reign of Semiramis, Empress of Assyria,
A. M. 1969, or 313 years after the Flood.
O'Flaherty adopts this chronology in his Ogygia,
part iii. c. ii. Giraldus Cambrensis writes that
" Bartholanus Sera: films de stirpe Japhet filii
Noe" came to Ireland in the three hundredth
year after the Deluge.

1 Magh-Fea : i. e. Fea's Plain. This was the
name of a level plain in the present barony of

Forth, and county of Carlow. Keating states
in his History of Ireland (reign of Olioll Molt)
that the church of Cill-Osnadha (now Kellis-
town), four (large Irish) miles to the east of
Leighlin, was situated in this plain. The barony
of Forth, or O'Nolan's country, comprised all
this plain, and was from it called Fotharta-Fea,
to distinguish it from the barony of Forth
in the county of "Wexford, which was called
Fotharta-an-Chairn, from Carnsore Point.

m His mother: a rhucaip. Dr. O'Conor prints
this math oir, and translates it " Duces Orien-
tales," which shews that he did not take the
trouble to compare the older accounts of this
story. It is stated in the Leabhar Gabhala of
the O'Clerys, and in Keating's History of Ireland,
that this Cical and his mother, Lot Luaimneach,
had been in Ireland before Partholan. — See
Haliday's edition, p. 167.

11 Sleamhnai Maighe-Ithe. — This was the name
of a place near Lough Swilly, in the barony of
Raphoe, and county of Donegal ; but it is now

emecnw. [2532.

fcoppa h, Slfmno,b TTl«,5e hire 50 po meboib pop ™ F°™P»'bh P'a bPaT"
calon, 50 Po mapbaiD uile, conab e each TTlui5he hlrhe mnpn.

doir Domom, Dd mile cuicc cfo cpioca a66. Uomaiom Locha Con,n
Locha Cecheac ipin mbliabainp.

QOT oomom, oa mile cu,cc ceao cpiocha acpf. Slainje mac paprolam
oecc ipn mbliabamp.n po habnachr h, ccapn Slebe Slansa. ComaiDn.
Coca TTIerc beop ipn bliabam cfona.

ao,r Domoin, Da mile cui5 ceD cpicha acu,5. La^linDe mac papralom
Df5 ipan mbliabainp. Qn can po clap a pfpc ar ann po mebaib Loch Laig-
linne i nUib mac Uaip, conab uaba ammmjcfp. Uoma.bm Locha h6achcpa

bfop.

Qoir Domom, od mile cui5 ceD cfcpaca a cui5. Ruopuibe mac papra-
lom DO bachab i Loc ttubpuibe, mp ccomaiom in locha raipif, conab uaba
paicfp Loch Rubpuije.

Qoir oomoin, od mile cuig cfo cfrpacha apS. Hlupcola bpfna Fo cfp
if in mbliabamfi, conab e an f fchrmab loch comaibm po mebaib i naimpp
Papraldm, i ap oopbe ap ainm Loch Cuan.

Qoip Domain, Da mile 61115 ceo caoga. papralon Decc pop Sfnmoij elca
Gaoaip ipm mbliabomp. Q naimpip jabala papcalom Ro plfccoic na
muijepi : ace na ma m pff caice bliabna dipibe in po plfchcoiD. TTlag

obsolete. Magh-Ithe is the name of a plain in rum, at 24th March, pp. 742, 744. The earn of

the barony of Raphoe, along the River Finn — Slainge is still to be seen on the summit of

See Colgan's Trias Thaum., pages 114, 181. Slieve-Donard, and forms a very conspicuous

0 Loch Con. — A large lake in the barony of object. The hero Slainge is now forgotten by

Tirawley, and county of Mayo. tradition, but the memory of St. Donard is still

p Loch Techeat. — Now Lough Gara, near Boyle, held in great veneration throughout the barony

on the borders of the counties of Roseommon of Iveagh and the Mourne mountains. Archdall

and Sligo __ See note k, under A. D. 1256, p. 357. (Monasticon, p. 733) commits the double error of

q Sliabh Slangha. — This was the ancient name confounding Sliabh-Domhanghairt with Carn-

ofSliabh Domhanghairt, or Slieve Donard, in the sore point, on the south coast of Wexford, and

south-east of the county of Down. Giraldus of supposing the latter gentle promontory to be

Cambrensis says that it was called Mons Domi- " a very high mountain which overhangs the

nici in his own time, from a St. Deminicus who sea."

built a noble monastery at the foot of it. — Top. ' Loch-Mesc. — Now Lough-Mask, a large and

Hib., dist. iii. c. 2. This was St. Domhanghart, beautiful lake near Ballinrobe, in the county of

and the monastery is Maghera. — See Colgan's Mayo.

Trias Thaum., p. 114 n, 131 ; and Acta Sancto- s Loch-Laighlinne. — This lake is mentioned

2532.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 7

where the Fomorians were defeated by Parthalon, so that they were all slain.
This is called the battle of Magh-Ithe.

The Age of the World, 2532. The eruption of Loch Con° and Loch
Techeat" in this year.

The Age of the World, 2533. Slainge, son of Partholan, died in this
year, and was interred in the earn of Sliabh Slangha". Also the eruption of
Loch Mescr in the same year.

The Age of the World, 2535. Laighlinne, son of Parthalon, died in this
year. When his grave was dug, Loch Laighlinne' sprang forth in Ui Mac Uais,
and from him it is named. The eruption of Loch Eachtra' also.

The Age of the World, 2545. Rudhruidhe, son of Parthalon, was drowned
in Loch Kudhruidhe", the lake having flowed over him; and from him the lake
is called.

The Age of the World, 2546. An inundation of the sea over the land at
Brena" in this year, which was the seventh lake-eruption that occurred in the
time of Parthalon; and this is named Loch Cuan.

The Age of the World, 2550. Parthalon died on Sean Magh-Ealta-Eadair1
in this year. In the time of Parthalon's invasion these plains were cleared
[of wood] ; but it is not known in what particular years they were cleared :

in the Leabhar-Gabhala, and by Keating and in the south-west of the county of Donegal.
O'Flaherty, as in Ui Mac Uais Breagh, a district w Brena. — This is called /return Brennese in
in Eastmeath, to the south-west of Tara. This the second and fourth Lives of St. Patrick, pub-
lake has not been identified. lished by Colgan. — See Trias Thaum., pp. 14, 19,

1 Loch-Eachtra, — This lake is referred to in 39. It was evidently the ancient name of the

the Chronicon Scotorum as situated between mouth of Strangford Lough, in the county of

Sliabh Modhurn and Sliabh Fuaid; and Keating Down, as the lake formed by the inundation

and O'Flaherty place it in Oirghialla. There is was Loch Cuan, which is still the Irish name of

no remarkable lake between Sliabh Mudhorn Strangford Lough.

and Sliabh Fuaid, except Loch Mucnamha at x Sean-Mhagh Eaha-Edair : i.e. the old Plain

Castleblaney, in the county of Monaghan ; and of the Flocks of Edar : i. e. on the plain after- '

it may be therefore conjectured that it is the wards so called, because Edar was the name of a

Loch Echtra in question. Sliabh Mudhorn is chieftain who nourished many centuries later,

in the barony of Cremorne, in the county of —See Ogygia, part iii. c. 44. The name appears

Monaghan ; and Sliabh Fuaid is near Newtown to have been applied to the plain extending from

Hamilton, in the county of Armagh. Binn-Edair, or the Hill of Howth, to Tallaght.

u Loch Rudhruidhe : i. e. Rury's Lake. This Keating states that this was the only plain in

was the name of the mouth of the River Erne, Ireland not covered with wood, when the coun-

8 ctNNata Rio^bachra eiReaNN. [2820.

nGirpije, la Connocra, TTlaj nlre, la Laijniu ; TTlas Lfi, la hlM mac Uaip
bpfj ; ITlaj Lacapna, la Dal nGpuiDe.

Goip oorhoin, Da mile ochc ccfo pice bliaban. Naoi TTlile Do ecc ppi
haoinpfchcmam Do mumceji papcalom pop pfnmaish ealca Gaooip .1. cuig
TTKle opfpoib, -] ceirpe mile Do mndibh. Conab De pin aca Uaimleachc
muincepe papralam. Upf cfo bliabam po cairpioc i nGpinn.

Gpe pap cpiochac bliabam 50 rcainicc Neimioh.

Qoip oomoin, Da mile ochr ccfb caocca. Neirmb Do cechr in nGpinn. Ip
an oapa la Decc lap ccechc DO NeimiD co na rhumcip acbac ITlacha bfn
Neimib. Qciao annpo na cfqia haipij bacap laip, Soapn, lapbamel POID,
peapjup Leiroepg,"] QinDinD. Ceirpe meic NeimiD iaopi6e. TTleDu, TTlacha,
^ba, i Cfpa, cfcfopa mnd na naipeachpin.

Ctoip Domom, Da mfle occ ccfo caoja anaoi. 1pm mbliaDoinpi po mebaib
Loc nOaipbpfc -\ Coch nQinninD hi ITliDe.

Qnacc annpo na Racha po coccbaoh, na moije po plfchrab, ~\ na locha
po comaiDmpar mo aimpip NemiD,5en 50 bpojcop bliabna painpfoacha poppa.
l?ach Cino ech i nUibh Niallain ; Rach Ciombaoic hi Seimne, TTlagh Cfpa,

try was first discovered by Ninus, son of Belus. by the Ecv. William Reeves, M. B., M. R. I. A.,

Clontarf is referred to as a part of it. pp. 55, 87, 264, 324, 338. For the extent of

i Magh-n-Eithrighe. — In the Chronicon Scoto- Dal Araidhe, see the same work, pp. 334 to 348 ;

rum this is called Magh-Tuiredh, alias Magh and the second part of these Annals, note °,

n-Edara. There are two Magh-Tuiredhs in under the year 1174, p. 13. Giraldus Cambrensis

Connaught, one near Cong, in the county of also mentions the cutting down of four forests

Mayo, and the other near Lough Arrow, in the in the time of Bartholanus, and adds that in his

county of Sligo. own time there were more woods than plains in

1 Magh-Ithe, in Leinster — Not identified. Ireland : " Sed etiam adhuc hodie, respectu

* Magh-Lii, in Ui-Mac- Uais-Breagh — This sylvarum, pauca sunt hie campestria." Sir

is a mistake for Magh-Lii in Ui-Mac-Uais. It Robert Kane, in the nineteenth century, had to

was the name of a territory extending from Bir complain of the very contrary—See his Indus-

to Camus, on the west side of the River Bann, trial Resources of Ireland, 2nd edition, p. 3. See

where the Fir-Lii, a section of the descendants Boate's Natural History of Ireland, 8vo. London,

of Colla Uais, settled at an early period. There 1652, chap, xv., which accounts for the diminu-

was no Magh-Lii in Breagh. tion of timber in Ireland « by the incredible

" Magh-Latliarna : i. e. the Plain of Larne.— quantity consumed in the iron works, and by the

is was the name of a tuagh or district com- exportation of pipe staves in whole ship loads."

prised in the present barony of Upper Glenarm, —See Hardiman's edition of O'Flaherty's lar-

and county of Antrim — See Eccles. Antiquities Connaught, p. 8, note '.

of the Dioceses of Down and Connor and Dromore, 'Taimhleacht-Muintire-Parthalom.-O'm^Ttj

2820.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 9

Magh-n-Eithrighey, in Connaught ; Magh-Ithe, in Leinsterz ; Magh-Liia, in
Ui-Mac-Uais-Breagh ; Magh-Latharna", in Dal-Araidhe.

The Age of the World, 2820. Nine thousand of Parthalon's people died
in one week on Sean-Mhagh-Ealta-Edair, namely, five thousand men, and four
thousand women. Whence is [named] Taimhleacht Muintire Parthaloin0.
They had passed three hundred years in Ireland.

Ireland was thirty years waste till Neimhidh's arrival.

The Age of the World, 2850. Neimhidh" came to Ireland. On the twelfth
day after the arrival of Neimhidh with his people, Macha, the wife of Neimhidh,
died. These were the four, chieftains who were with him : Sdarn, larbhainel
the Prophet, Fearghus Leithdheirg, and Ainninn. These were the four sons
of Neimhidh. Medu, Macha, Yba, and Ceara, were the four wives of these
chieftains.

The Age of the World, 2859. In this year Loch Dairbhreach6 and Loch
Ainninnf in Meath sprang forth.

These were the forts that were erected, the plains that were cleared, and
the lakes that sprang forth, in the time of Neimhidh, but the precise years8
are not found for them : Kath-Cinnechh, in Ui-Niallain ; Rath-Cimbaeith', in

states that a monastery was afterwards erected a large and beautiful lake, near Castlepollard,

at this place, and that it is situated three miles in the county of Westmeath.

to the south of Dublin. — See Ogygia, part iii. f Loch Ainninn Now Lough Ennell, near

c. 5. It is the place now called Tallaght, and Mullingar. — See note n, under the year 1446,
some very ancient tumuli are still to be seen p. 949, in the second part of these Annals.
on the hill there. The word caimleacr, or « The precise years : i. e. the precise years in
ramlacc, signifies a place where a number of which such forts were erected, plains cleared,
persons, cut off by the plague, were interred &c., have not been recorded. Dr. O'Conor
together — See Cormac's Glossary, in voce Oairii- translates this : " quousque experti sunt annos
leacc. The word frequently enters into the pestilentiales contra se," which is not the mean-
topographical names in Ireland, and is anglicised ing intended by the Four Masters.
Tamlaght, Tawlaght, and Tallaght. " Rath-Cinnech. — There is no place now bear-

d Neimhidh. — In the Annals of Clonmacnoise, ing this name in the baronies of Ui-Niallain or

as translated by Connell Mageoghegau, the arri- Oneilland, in the county of Armagh,
val of " Nevie with his fower sonnes into Ireland ' Rath-Cimbaoith : i. e. Kimbaeth's Fort This

out of Greece," is synchronized with the latter name is now obsolete. The position of the plain

end of the reign of Altades, monarch of Assyria, of Seimhne is determined by Kinn-Seimhne,

O'Flaherty places it in A. M. 2029. i. e. the point or promontory of Seimhne, the

' LochDairbhreach — NowLoughDerryvaragh, ancient name of Island-Magee, in the county of

10

[3066.

TTIaj nGaba, TTlagh Chu,le rotab, n TTla5h Lu,p5 hi cConoachcoib ; Tlla5
codhcnp , cUlp eo5a,n; Lcasmag , TTlumain ; TTIa5h m6pfnra , Lai5n,bh ;
TTla5h Luja&i nU,BCu,pcpe; TTla5h SepeDh, rUecba; TTla5h Semne i nOal
Qnuibe; Hla* mu.pcemne i cConaille ; -| Hlaj TTlacha la hdipjiallmb.
Loch Cal i nUib Nialldin, 1 Loch TTlumpfihoip hi Luijnib hi Sleb ^uaipe.
Carh TTlupbuils i nOdl Riaoa. Cach bojna, -, each Cnampoppa, pop
pomoipib. T?o bpip Nemib laopibe.

Ctcbach NemiD mpom DO camh i ccpich Liacdm i TTlumain cpi mile map
aon pip mo oilen Qpoa t^emfo.

Qoip Domain, cpf mile pfpcoc ape. Cosail cuip Conamn ipm mbliaDampi
la piol NeimiD pop Conainn mac paobaip, i pop pomopib ap cfna a noiojail
jac Docpaioe Da ccapopac poppa, arhail ap pollup ipm cpoimc oa ngoipcfp

Antrim. — See Reeves's Eccles. Antiq. of the Dio-
ceses of Down and Connor and Dromore, p. 270.
k Magh-Ceara. — A plain in the barony of
Carra, in the county of Mayo.

I Magh-n-Eabha Now Machaire-Eabha, an-

glicc Magherow, a plain situated between the
mountain of Binbulbin and the sea, in the ba-
rony of Carbery, and county of Sligo.

m Magh-CuUe-Toladh. — A plain in the barony
of Kilmaine, and county of Mayo.

n Magh-Luirg. — A plain in the barony of
Boyle, and county of Roscommon. — See note e,
under A. D. 1187.

° Magh-tochair : i. e. Plain of the Causeway.
This was the name of a plain at the foot of
Sliabh-Sneacht, anglice Slieve Snaght, in the
barony of Inishowen, and county of Donegal,
which was anciently a part of Tir-Eoghain or
Tyrone. The church of Domhnachmor-Muighe-
tochair, near the village of Carn-Donagh, is
referred to in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick
as in this plain.

P Leagmhagh, in Munster. — Not identified.

II Magh m-Brensa — Unknown.

' Magh-Lughadh : i. e. Lughadh's Plain, a dis-
trict near Lough Neagh ; but this name is now
obsolete. — See note ", under the year 1218.

s Magh-Seredh.— See the year 738, where this
place is said to be Ceanannus, i. e. Kells, between
the two Teffias.

1 Magh-Seimhne. — See Rath-Cimbaoith, notef,
supra.

u Magh-Muirtheimlme. — A level country, in
the present county of Louth, extending from
the River Boyne to the mountains of Cuailgne
or Carlingford. Dundalk, Louth, Drumiskin,
Faughard, and Monasterboice, are mentioned
as in this plain. — See the Annals of Tighernach,
A. D. 1002 ; Ussher's Primordia, pp. 627, 705,
827, 902. This territory was otherwise called
Machaire-Oirghiall, and Conaille-Muirtheimhne.
—See A.D. 1434, 1452, 1466, and I486.

w Magh-Macha. — This was the ancient name
of the plain in which the town of Armagh is
situated. It is more usually called Machaire-

Arda-Macha, i. e. the Plain of Armagh See

A. D. 1103, 1196, and 1424.

x Loch-Col. — Now Lough Gall, a small lake,
giving name to a village in the barony of West
Oneilland (Ui-Niallain), county of Armagh.

* Loch-Muinreamhair. — Now Lough Ramor,
near Virginia, in the barony of Castlerahin, and
county of Cavan. Luighne was an extensive
territory in ancient Meath. The name is still

3066.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

11

Seimhne; Magh-Ceara", Magh n-Eabha1, Magh-Cuile-Toladhm, and Magh-Luirg",
in Connaught; Magh-tochair0, in Tir-Eoghain; Leagmhagh, in Munsterp; Magh
m-Brensaq, in Leinster ; Magh-Lughadhr, in Ui-Tuirtre; Magh-Seredh1, in Teffia;
Magh-Seimhne', in Dal-Araidhe ; Magh-Muirtheimhne11, in Conaille ; and Magh-
Macha", in Oirghialla ; Loch-Calx, in Ui-Niallain ; Loch-Muinreamhairy, in
Luighne, in Sliabh Guairez. The battle of Murbholg", in Dal-Riada ; the battle
of Baghnab; and the battle of Cnamh-Rossc against the Fomorians. Neimhidh
gained these [battles].

Neimhidh afterwards died of a plague, together with three thousand persons,
in the island of Ard-Neimhidhd, in Crich Liathain8, in Munster.

The Age of the World, 3066. The demolition of the tower of Conainnf in
this year, by the race of Neimhidh, against Conainn, son of Faebhar, and the
Fomorians in general, in revenge for all the oppression they had inflicted upon
them [the race of Neimhidh], as is evident from the chronicle which is called

retained in the barony of Lune, but the territory
was far more extensive than this barony.

1 Sliabh Guaire. — This is still the name of a
mountainous district in the barony of Clankee,
and county of Cavan — See Loch-Suidhe-Odh-
rain, A. D. 1054.

a Murbholg : i. e. Sea-inlet. Now Murlough
Bay, on the north-east coast of the barony of
Gary, and county of Antrim. Dalriada was the
ancient name of that part of the county of An-
trim lying north of Sliabh Mis, or Slemmish.

b Baghna. — This is still the name of a moun-
tainous district in the east of the county of
Roscommon, nearly coextensive with the ba-
rony of Ballintober, North — See Sliabh Baghna,
A. D. 1572, and Tribes and Customs of Hy- Many,
p. 90, note ".

0 Cnanih-Ross : i. e. Wood of the Bones. This
was probably the ancient name of Camross, near
Barry's Cross, in the county of Carlow.

AThe island of Ard- Neimhidh — NowBarrymore
Island, otherwise the Great Island, near Cork.
— See Keating's History of Ireland, Haliday's
edition, p. 178.

C

e Crich-Liathain — A large district in the
county of Cork, comprising the village of Castle-
Lyons, and the Great Island near Cork — See
note c, under A. D. 1579, p. 1722.

f Tor-Conainn — Called Tor-Conaing by Keat-
ing, and in the more ancient copies of the Leabhar
Gabhala, where the story of the destruction of it
is given at full length. It was situated on Tory
Island, off the north-west coast of the county of
Donegal. There is no tradition of this Conainn,
or Conaing, on Tory Island at present ; but there
are most curious traditions of Balor. Giraldus
Cambrensis calls the Fomorians " Gygantes
(quibus tune temporis abundabat insula)", and
" pyrati, qui Hiberniam grauiter depopulari con-
sueuerant." In the Annals of Clonmacnoise, as
translated by Connell Mageoghegan, it is said
that " these Ffomores were a sept descended from
Cham, the sonne of Noeh ; that they lived by
pyracie and spoile of other nations, and were in
those days very troublesome to the whole world."
—See A. M. 3330, infra. O'Flaherty thinks that
they were the inhabitants of Denmark, Norway,
Finland, &c — See Ogygia, part iii. c. 56, p. 303.

aNNCtca RioTjnacncu eiKtsuNN. [3266.

I — **

Leabap Cabala, -] ap puaill nac copcpacop comcuicim ofblmibh gen mo cao
na cpf ofichneaboip ceapnacop DO clamo Nerino po aipoib in Domain 50 pan-
jacop Gpinn lap ccpioll ma bpepaib bolcc. 86 bliaDna oecc Da cfo po
caic Nemio co na pfol mo 6pmn. 6pe pap mppin pe Da cfo bliabam.

Qoip Domain, cpf mile Da cfo pepccac ape. pip bolcc Do jabail Gipionn
a bpoipcfno na bliaDna po. Slainje, ^ano, ^enann, Seangann, -] PuDpuije
a ccoig coipij. Cuig meic Oeala mic Loicb laopom. Ro pfojpac an cfrpop
oile i pip bolcc ap cfna Slamse uaipcib.

of the Annals of Clonmacnoise as follows :

" After making of which division [of Ireland
into five provinces], Slane, their said elder bro-
ther, by the consent and election of his other
foure brothers, was chosen king, and was the
first king that ever absolutely ruled Ireland."

Keating quotes the Book of Druim-Sneachta,
which he says existed before the time of St. Pa-
trick, as authority for these stories concerning
the migration of these Firbolgs from Greece —
See Haliday's edition, pp. 186, 214.

The account of the division of Ireland into
provinces by these five brothers has been totally
omitted by the Four Masters in their Annals.
It is given in all the copies of the Leabhar-
Gabhala, in the Annals of Clonmacnoise ; and in
Keating's History of Ireland. It is given as fol-
lows in the Annals of Clonmacnoise :

" This sept was called Ffirvolge ; there were
five brothers that were their chieftains, the
sonnes of Dela mac Loich, that first divided Ire-
land into five provinces.

" 1. Slane, their eldest brother, had the pro-
vince of Leynster for his part, which containeth
from Inver Colpe, that is to say, where the River
of Boyne entereth into the sea, now called in
Irish Drogheda, to the meeting of the three
Waters, by Waterford, where the Three Rivers,
Suyre, Ffeoir, and Barrow, do meet and run to-
gether into the sea.

" 2. Gann, the second brother's part was South
Munster, which is a province extending from

8 The Leabhar-Gabhala: i. e. the Book of Inva-
sions. There are various copies of this work
still extant, of which the oldest seems to be that
in the Stowe Library, described by Dr. O' Conor
in the Stowe Catalogue. There is a fragment
of an ancient copy contained in the Book of
Leinster, in the Library of Trinity College,
Dublin, H. 2. 18, but it wants the beginning.

b Mutually fell by each other : i. e. they mutu-
ally slaughtered each other almost to annihila-
tion. Dr. O'Conor renders this : " Et mirum
est non occisos fuisse simul interfectos ex utra-
que parte plures quam triginta." But he is
clearly wrong, for in the ancient Irish ap puaill
nac is the same as the modern if beaj nac. The
mistakes of this kind throughout Dr. O'Conor's
translation are countless, and the Editor shall,
therefore, only notice the most remarkable of
them.

' Two hundred and sixteen years, $c. — Giraldus
Cambrensis, in his Topog. Hib., dist. iii. c. 3,
agrees with this, which shews that this account
of Neimhidh was then written: "Ducentis igitur
& 16 annisNemedi generatio Hiberniam tenuit:
& ducentis postmodum annis vacua fuit."

k The other four, $c — Dr. O'Conor translates
this : " Kegnaverunt quatuor alii et Firbolgi
similiter, Slangio supra ipsos regnante." But
he totally mistakes the construction. It should
be : " Ordinaverunt quatuor alii et Firbolgi
similiter Slangium [regem] supra ipsos." Con-
nell Mageoghegan renders it in his translation

3266.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

13

Leabhar-Gabhala8 ; and they -nearly all mutually fell by each other" ; thirty
persons alone of the race of Neimhidh escaped to different quarters of the
world, and they came to Ireland some time afterwards as Firbolgs. Two
hundred and sixteen years' Neimhidh and his race remained in Ireland. After
this Ireland was a wilderness for a period of two hundred years.

The Age of the World, 3266. The Firbolgs took possession of Ireland at
the end of this year. Slainghe, Gann, Genann, Seangann, and Rudhraighe, were
their five chieftains. These were the five sons of Deala, son of Loich. The
other four" and the Firbolgs in general elected Slainge as king over them.

that place to Bealagh-Conglaissy.

"3. Seangann, the third brother's part was
from Bealagh-Conglaissy to Rossedahaileagh
[Rop oa paileac], now called Limbricke, which
is the province of North Munster.

" 4. Geanann, the fourth brother, had the
province of Connaught, containeing from Lim-
bricke to Easroe.

" 5. Rorye, the fifth brother, and youngest,
had from Easroe aforesaid to Inver Colpe, which
is the province of Ulster."

The account of the division of Ireland into
five provinces by the Firbolgs is also given in
Dr. Lynch's manuscript translation of Keating's
History of Ireland, as follows :

" Firbolgi illi quinque Dinastsc Hiberniam
universam in quinque partiti sunt portiones.
Slanius inter fratres natu primus, qui Slanio
flumiiii Wexfordia; adfluenti nomen fecit, sibi
Lageniam ab Inbhercolpa Droghedach alias Va-
dipontem ad Trium Aquarum Confluvia excur-
rentem, et comitum mille viros adscivit. Ganno
e Comitibus mille, nee non Australis Momonia,
quidquid nimirum agrorum inter Trium Aqua-
rum Confluvia et Belaghconglas Limbricum pa-
tet, cesserant. Ad Senganum tractus a Belach-
conglas et Limbrico protensus in occidentem,
cum mille viris sorte devenit. Mille alij Gana-
num prosecuti sunt, cum traditse sibi Conacise,
qua Limbricum ab Austro, Drovisiam ab Aqui-
lone, pro metis habet, possessionem adiret. As-

signatum sibi Vltoniam a Drovisia ad Vadipon-
tem porrectam capescivit Ruarius, eo etiam mille
hominum colonia deductIL

" Hi quini Dinastee Comitesque Firbolgi, Fir-
domnani, et Galeoni dicti sunt : Firbolgi ab
utribus ferendis, Fir enim hibernice viros, et
Bolg utres significat, alluditque vox ad vtres
illos supra memoratos, quibus egestam ab ipsis
humo mergam ad scabra saxceta, et ferendis
frugibus inepta, quo feracia invaderent novalia,
comportarunt. Firdomnani vero propterea nun-
cupabantur, quod fodientes in terrain alte de-
scenderant, Etenim Hibernica vox ootiju'"
perinde est ac altum, sive profundum. Galeoni
autem nominati sunt ab hastarum genere, quibus
intentos operi socios ab hostium injury's prote-
gebant. In Hiberniam licet eadem Hebdomada,
non tamen eodem die Firbolgi omnes appule-
runt. Slanius ad Slanij Fluvii ostia, die Saba-
thi ; Die uero Martis Gannus & Senganus in
Irisdomnam, Gannanus et Ruarius die Veneris
Trachruris naves applicuerunt. Qui omnes
quanquam communi nomine Firbolgorum voce
innotescerent, peculiar! tamen nomine Slani
Comites Galeones, Ganni et Sengani Firbolgorij,
Ruairci et Genani Socij Firdomnani vocabantur :
Gannanum quidem et Ruarium, nonnulli tra-
dunt, ad fluvij Damnani, qui, qua fluit ad Cona-
ciam Caurus in oceanum se exonerat, Ostia
primum appulisse ac flumini nomen fecisse." —
Page 58.

14 awwata Rioshachca emeaNN. [3267-

Qo,r Domain, qii mfle Da ceD peapccac a peachc. Slamje mac Oeala
DO bach , pise 6plonn ppf pe aombliaDna, "] a ecc , poipcfnn na Urn!
i nOionn Rij pop bpu bfpba.

ao,r Domom, cpf mile Da ceD peapccac a hocc. RuDpuiDe mac Dealc
oo 5abail pfje nGpeanD. On ceo bliabam Dm pije mnpin.

do,r Domain, cpf mae Da ceo peapcac anaoi. Qn Dapa bliaDom Do pije
T?u6pui6e, •] a ecc i bpoipaonn na blia&na po.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile Da ceo pfchrmojac. Qn ceo bliaDain Do pije

^ainn -| 5eaTiainn °T ^pmn mnpn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile Da ceD pechrmosac a cpf. Qn cfcpamaD bliaDain
DO 5ann -] DO ^eanann, -\ a necc Do cam a bpoipcfno na bliaDna po hi ccpic
Liacam co ppicic ceD ap aon piu.

Qoip Domoin, cpi mile Da ceD pfchcmojac a cfcaip. Qn ceD bliaDain Do
pije Shenjaino innpin.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile Da ceD pfccmojac a hocc. Q bpoipcenD an cuicc-
ea6 blia&am DO pije Sfngamn copcoip la piachaiD Cennpionndn mac Scaipn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile Da ceD pfccmojac anaoi. Qn ceo bliaoam Do
pije piacach Cennpionndn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile Da ceo occmojac a cpf. Qn cuicceao bliaDain Do
pi£e piaca, i a chuicim la TCionnal mac 5ear)01riri an blia&ainpi.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile Da ceD occmojac a cfcaip. Qn ceo bliaDain Do
pije Rionnail mic ^eanoinn pop 6pmn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile Da ceD occmojac anaoi. lap bpopbaD an peipeab
bliaDain Do Rionndl ip an pige, copchoip la pombgen mac Senghainn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile Da ceo nochac. Qn ceo bliaDain Do pije poi&bjen.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile Da ceD nochac acpf. Q bpoipcfnn an cfcpamaD
bliaDain Do pije poi&bgen Do pochaip la hGocaiD mac Gpc.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile Da ceo nochac a cfcaip. Qn ceD bliaDain Do
pijjhe Gch&ac mic Gpc inopin.

1 Dinn-Righ : i. e. the Hill of the Kings, other- well known. It is situated in the townland of

wise called Dumha-Slainge, i. e. Slainge Mound. Bally knockan, about a quarter of a mile to the

This was a very ancient seat of the kings of south of Leighlin-Bridge, near the west bank of

Leinster. Keating describes its situation as on the River Barrow. Nothing remains of the pa-

the brink of the River Bearbha [the Barrow], lace but a moat, measuring two hundred and

between Carlow and Leighlin. This place is still thirty-seven yards in circumference at the base,

3267.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 15

The Age of the World, 3267. Slainghe, son of Deala, was king of Ireland
for a period of one year ; and he died at the end of the year, at Dinn-Righ', on
the brink of the Bearbha.

The Age of the World, 3268. Rudhraighe, son of Deala, assumed the
government of Ireland. This is the first year of his reign.

The Age of the World, 3269. The second year of the reign of Rudhraighe ;
and he died™ at the end of this year.

The Age of the World, 3270. This was the first year of the reign of
Gann and Geanann over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3273. The fourth year of Gann and Geanann ;
and they died at the end of this year, with twenty hundred along with them, in
Crich-Liathain".

The Age of the World, 3274. This was the first year of the reign of
Sengann.

The Age of the World, 3278. At the end of the fifth year of the reign
of Seangann, he fell by Fiachaidh Cennfinnan, son of Starn.

The Age of the World, 3279. The first year of the reign of Fiacha Cenn-
finnain.

The Age of the World, 3283. The fifth year of the reign of Fiacha. And
he fell by Rinnal, son of Geanann, this year.

The Age of the World, 3284. The first year of the reign of Rinnal, son
of Geanann, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3289. After the completion of the fifth year of
his reign by Rinnal, he fell by Foidhbhgen, son of Seangann.

The Age of the World, 3290. The first year of the reign of Foidhbhgen.

The Age of the World, 3293. At the end of the fourth year of the reign
of Foidhbhgen, he fell by Eochaidh, son of Ere.

The Age of the World, 3294. This was the first year of the reign of
Eochaidh, son of Ere.

sixty-nine feet in height from the level of the n Crich-Liathain — A district in the county of

River Barrow, and one hundred and thirty-five Cork, containing the village of Castlelyons, and

feet in diameter at top. the Great Island near Cork. According to Keat-

m Died. — According to Keating and the Lea- ing and O'Flaherty, Gann and Geanann died of

bhar-Gabhala, he died at Brugh, over the River the plague at Freamhain, in Meath, now Frewin,

Boyne. a lofty hill near Mullingar, in Westmeath.

UNNU.CU. KIWQI nj.v^i iwj. 6IR6QNN. [ooUo.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile cpi ceo acpf. Qn oechmab bliabain Do pije
6achba6 mic Gpc, -\ ap ipibe bliaDam ofibfnach a plaiaupa, uaip ean5acap
Cuacha Oe Oanonn DO 5abail 6peqnn pop pfpoib bolcc co ccapopac cac
Dia poile pop TTlaij cuipfb hi Conmaicne Chuile Colab i cConoachcaib, ^up
po mapbab an pi Gochaib mac Gpc la cpib macoib Neimib mic babpai Do
Cuachaib De Oanonn, Ceapapb, Luam, i Luacpa a nanmanna. Ro DIOC-
laicpishfb Pip bolcc ipm cac pin, i po lab a nap. Ro bfnab bfop a lam Do
Nuabacc mac Gchbac, mic Gccaplaim, (oon pij po baoi pop CuachaiB Oe
Oannann) ipm cac cfona. dpe an cGochaib pempaice Rf Dfibfnac pfp
mbolcc. Naonbap po jab pije Diob, -] peace mbliabna Decc ap picic poo a
bplaiciupa pop Gpmn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile cpi ceD a cfcoip. Qn cfo bliabam Do pije bpepp
mic Galacom pop Gpinn, uaip DO pacpac Cuaca Oe Oariann pije Do mp
mbpipiob caca TTluije cuipeab Conga, an ccem po baoi lam Nuabac accd
leijiup.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile cpi ceD a ofich. Qn pfccmab bbabam DO bpep
6p Gpmn mnpm, 50 po pagoib an pije Do Nuabac mp nfoc a laime la Oian-
cechc, -] Cpfione cepo 05 congnam laip. Uaip Do pacpaD laim

paip.

Ctoip Domain, cpi mile cpi ceo a haom Decc. Qn cfo blia&gin Do pijhe
NuaDac aipjjfclairh cap eip a laime Do caiceam pe pfopa aipgaicc aicleijcfo.

Ctoip Domain, cpi mile cpi ceD cpiocac. Q bpoipcfno pice blia&ain Do

0 Magh-Tuireadh — Otherwise called Magh- and in all the copies of the Ledbhar- Gabhala,

Tuireadh-Conga, from its proximity to Cong. The and by Keating and O'Flaherty. According

site of this battle is still pointed out in the parish to the Leabhar- Gabhala, Eochaidh fled from this

of Cong, barony of Kilmaine, and county of battle, and was pursued and overtaken on the

Mayo, to the right of the road as you go from strand of Traigh-Eothaile, near Ballysadare, in

Cong to the village of the Neal. There is a the present county of Sligo, where he was slain,

detailed but legendary account of this battle in a as mentioned in the text. The earn in which

manuscript, in the handwriting of Gilla-riabhach he was interred is described as one of the won-

O'Clery, preserved in the Library of the British ders of Ireland in the Mirabilia Hibernice, in the

Museum, Harl. 432, Plut. xlviii. E, beginning Book of Ballymote ; and also by O'Flaherty, in

fol. 52 a, line 6. Ogygia, part iii. cc. 10 and 50. This earn still

" Was killed.— Eochaidh, son of Ere, is given as exists, and although not high above the level of

the last of the nine Firbolgic kings in the Annals the strand, it is believed that the tide never can

of Clonmacnoiss as translated by Mageoghegan ; cover it.

3303.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 17

The Age of the World, 3303. The tenth year of the reign of Eochaidh,
son of Ere ; and this was the last year of his reign, for the Tuatha-De-Dananns
came to invade Ireland against the Firbolgs ; and they gave battle to each other
at Magh-Tuireadh°, in Conmaicne-Cuile-Toladh, in Connaught, so that the King
Eochaidh, son of Ere, was killed" by the three sons of Neimhidh, son of Badhrai,
of the Tuatha-De-Dananns ; Ceasarb, Luamh, and Luachra, their names. The
Firbolgs were vanquished and slaughtered" in this battle. Moreover, the handr
of Nuadhat, son of Eochaidh, son of Edarlamh (the king who was over the
Tuatha-De-Dananns), was cut off in the same battle. The aforesaid Eochaidh
was the last king of the Firbolgs. Nine of them had assumed kingship, and
thirty-seven years was the length of their sway over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3304. The first year of the reign of Breas, son of
Ealathan, over Ireland ; for the Tuatha-De-Danann gave him the sovereignty,
after gaining the battle of Magh-Tuireadh Conga, while the hand of Nuadhat
was under cure.

The Age of the World, 3310. This was the seventh year of Breas over
Ireland, when he resigned the kingdom to Nuadhat, after the cure of his hand by
Diancecht, assisted by Creidne, the artificer, for they put a silver hand upon him.

The Age of the World, 3311. The first year of the reign of Nuadhat
Airgeatlamh, after his hand had been welded with a piece of refined silver.

The Age of the World, 3330. At the end of the twentieth year of the

"> Slaughtered. — According to the Annals of Tuatha-De-Dananns, that Credne Cerd made a
Clonmacnoise, as translated by Connell Mageogh- silver hand for this Nuadhat, and that Dian-
egan, the Firbolgs were " overthrown" in this cecht, the -<Esculapius of the Irish, fitted it upon
battle, and " one hundred thousand of them him, from which he was ever after known by
slaine, with their king, Eochy Mac Eircke, which the name of Nuadhat- Airgetlamh, i. e. Nuadhat
was the greatest slaughter that was ever heard of the Silver Hand. It is stated in the Leabhar-
of in Ireland at one meeting." From the monu- Gabhala of the O'Clerys that Diancecht and
ments of this battle still remaining, it is quite Credne formed the hand with motion in every fin-
evident that great numbers were slain; butcer- gerandjoint, and that Miach, the son of Diancecht,
tainly not so many as mentioned in the Annals to excel his father, took off this hand, and infused
of Clonmacnoise, which was probably taken from feeling and motion into every joint and vein of

some romantic account of this battle, like that it, as if it were a natural hand See O'Fla-

above referred to. herty's Ogygia, part iii. c. 10. In Cormac's Glos-

* The hand. — It is stated in the Battle ofMagh- sary the name of Diancecht is explained " Deus

Tuireadh, and various other accounts of the salulis" .i.oia na h- fee, "the God of curing."

18

[3330.

Nuat>ac Qpsaclaim copcaip i ccac TTluije euipfo na-bpomopac la
balop mbailcbemnioch opliomoipib.

s Magh-Tuireadh no, bh-Fomorach. — This name
is still remembered in the country, and is now
applied to a townland in the parish of Kilmac-
tranny, barony of Tirerrill, and county of Sligo.
There are very curious sepulchral monuments
still to be seen on this battle-field, of which a mi-
nute description has been given by Dr. Petrie in
a paper read before the Royal Irish Academy in
1836.— See note c, under A. D. 1398. There
was also a long account of this battle of the nor-
thern Magh-Tuireadh, as well as of that of the
southern Magh-Tuireadh, or Magh-Tuireadh-
Conga, already mentioned, but the Editor never
saw a copy of it. O'Flaherty, who appears to
have read it, states (Ogygia, part iii. c. 12) that
Balor Benien or Bailcbemnech, general of the
Fomorians, was slain in this battle by a stone
thrown at him by the son of his daughter, from
a machine called tabhall, which is believed to
have been a sling; and that Kethlenn, the wife
of Balor, fought with desperation, and wounded
the Dagda, afterwards king of the Tuatha-De-
Dananns, with some missile weapon. This Ba-
lor, the general of the Fomorians, is still vividly
remembered by tradition throughout Ireland,
as 6alop 6eimeann, and in some places they
frighten children by his name; but he is more
vividly remembered on Tory Island, — where he
is believed to have chiefly resided, — and on the
opposite coast of Donegal, than anywhere else,
except, perhaps, at Cong, in Mayo. The tra-
dition connected with Balor, on Tory Island,
was written by the Editor in 1835, from the
dictation of Shane O'Dugan, whose ancestor is
said to have been living on Tory Island in St.
Columbkille's time. It is a curious specimen
of the manner in which tradition accounts for
the. names of places, and remembers the names
of historical characters. This story is evidently

founded on facts; but from its having floated on
the tide of tradition for, perhaps, three thou-
sand years, names have been confounded, and
facts much distorted.

The history of Balor runs as follows, as re-
lated to the Editor by Shane O'Dugan, one of
the O'Dugans of Tory Island:

" In days of yore (a period beyond the reach
of chronology, — far back in the night of time)
flourished three brothers, Gavida, Mac Samh-
thiann, and Mac Kineely (TTlac Cmnpaelaio)
the first of whom was a distinguished smith,
who held his forge at Drumnatinne, a place in
the parish of Eath-Finan, which derived its
name from that circumstance, for Opuim na
ceme in Irish sounds ridge of the fire in English,
alluding to Gavida's furnace. Mac Kineely was
lord of that district, comprising the parishes of
Rath-Finan and Tullaghobegly, and was pos-
sessed of a cow called Glas Gaivlen \recte Glas
Gaibhnenn], which was so lactiferous as to be
coveted by all his neighbours, and so many at-
tempts had been made at stealing her, that he
found it necessary to watch her constantly.

"At this same remote period flourished on
Tory (an island lying in the ocean opposite
Drumnatinne, which received that name from
its presenting a towery appearance from the con-
tinent of Tir-Connell, and from the many promi-
nent rocks thereon, towering into the heavens,
and called tors by the natives) a famous warrior,
by name Balor, who had one eye in the middle
of his forehead, and another directly opposite it,
in the back of his skull. This latter eye, by its
foul, distorted glances, and its beams and dyes
of venom, like that of the Basilisk, would strike
people dead, and for that reason Balor kept it
constantly covered, except whenever he wished
to get the better of enemies by petrifying them

3330.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

19

reign of Nuadhat of the Silver Hand, he fell in the battle of Magh-Tuireadh
na bh-Fomorachs, by Balor of the mighty blows, one of the Fomorians.

with looks; and hence the Irish, to this day,
call an evil or overlooking eye by the name
of Suil Bhaloir. But, though possessed of such
powers of self-defence, it appears that it had
been revealed to a Druid that Balor should be
killed by his own O, or grandson 1 At this
time Balor had but an only child, a daughter,
Ethnea by name, and seeing that she was the
only medium through which his destruction
could be wrought, he shut her up in an im-
pregnable tower, which he himself, or some of
his ancestors, had built some time before on
the summit of Tor-more (a lofty and almost in-
accessible rock, which, shooting into the blue
sky, breaks the roaring waves and confronts
the storms at the eastern extremity of Tory Is-
land) ; and here he also placed a company of
twelve matrons, to whom he gave the strictest
charge not to allow any man near her, or give her
an idea of the existence or nature of that sex.
Here the fair Ethnea remained a long time im-
prisoned ; and, though confined within the limits
of a tower, tradition says that she expanded into
bloom and beauty ; and though her female at-
tendants never expressed the sound man in her
presence, still would she often question them
about the manner in which she herself was
brought into existence, and of the nature of the
beings that she saw passing up and down the
sea in currachs: often did she relate to them her
dreams of other beings, and other places, and
other enjoyments, which sported in her imagi-
nation while locked up in the arms of repose.
But the matrons, faithful to their trust, never
offered a single word in explanation of those
mysteries which enchanted her imagination.

In the mean time, Balor, now secure in his
existence, and regardless of the prediction of
the Druid, continued his business of war and

rapine. He achieved many a deed of fame ; cap-
tured many a vessel ; subdued and cast in chains
many an adventurous band of sea rovers ; and
made many a descent upon the opposite conti-
nent, carrying with him, to the island, men
and property. But his ambition could never be
satiated until he should get possession of that
most valuable cow, the Glas Gavlin, and to ob-
tain her he, therefore, directed all his powers
of strength and stratagem.

" One day Mac Kineely, the chief of the tract
opposite the island, repaired to his brother's
forge to get some swords made, and took with
him the invaluable Glas Gavlin by a halter which
he constantly held in his own hand by day, and
by which she was tied and secured by night.
When he arrived at the forge, he intrusted her
to the care of his brother, Mac Samhthainn, who,
it appears, was there too, on some business con-
nected with war, and entered the forge himself, to
see the sword properly shaped and steeled. But
while he was within, Balor, assuming the form of
a red-headed little boy, came to Mac Samhthainn
and told him that he heard his two brothers
(Gavida and Mac Kineely) saying, within at the
furnace, that they would use all his (Mac Sam-
thainn's) steel in making Mac Kineely's swords,
and would make his of Iron. ' By the Seomh,
then,' says Mac Samthainn, ' I'll let them know
that I am not to be humbugged so easily ; hold
this cow, my red-headed little friend, and you
will see how soon I'll make them alter their
intention.' With that he rushed into the forge
in a passion, and swearing by all the powers
above and below, that he would make his two
brothers pay for their dishonesty. Balor, as
soon as he got the halter into his hand, carried
off the Glas, with the rapidity of lightning, to
Tory Island, and the place where he dragged

aHHa(.a Rioshaclicct emecwN. '• < [3331.

«o,r ooma,n „, ml, cp. ceo, .r,ocac a haon. On ceo U.aba.n t>o

ceo ccmo5ac.
«, °a!n oo LU5h tlfaoa h, p*. ,,6^000 poca.p 16 Ulac

her in by the tail is, to this day (a great memo-
rial of the transaction), called Port-na-Glaise,
or the harbour of the Glas or green cow. When
Mac Kineely heard his brother's exclamations,
he knew immediately that Balor had effected
his purpose; so, running out of the forge, he
perceived Balor and the cow in the middle of
the Sound of Tory 1 Mac Samhthainn, also, being
soon made sensible of the scheme of Balor, suf-
fered a few boxes on the head from his brother
with impunity. Mac Kineely wandered about
distracted for several hours, before he could be
brought to' a deliberate consideration of what
was best to be done to recover the cow ; but,
after he had given full vent to his passions, he
called to the lonely habitation of a hoary Druid,
who lived not far from the place, and consulted
him upon the matter. The Druid told him that
the cow could never be recovered as long as
Balor was living, for that, in order to keep her,
he would never close the Basilisk eye, but pe-
trify every man that should venture to get near

her.

" Mac Kineely, however, had a Leanan-sidhe,

or familiar sprite, called Biroge of the Mountain,
who undertook to put him in the way of bring-
ing about the destruction of Balor. After having
dressed him in the clothes worn by ladies in
that age, she wafted him, on the wings of the
storm, across the Sound, to the airy top of Tor-
more, and there, knocking at the door of the
tower, demanded admittance for a noble lady
whom she rescued from the cruel hands of a
tyrant who had attempted to carry her off, by
force, from the protection of her people. The
matrons, fearing to disoblige the Banshee, ad-
mitted both into the tower. As soon as the

daughter of Balor beheld the noble lady thus
introduced, she recognised a countenance like
one of which she had frequently felt enamoured
in her dreams, and tradition says that she im-
mediately fell in love with her noble guest.
Shortly after this, the Banshee, by her super-
natural influence over human nature, laid the
twelve matrons asleep; and Mac Kineely, hav-
ing left the fair daughter of Balor pregnant,
was invisibly carried back by his friendly sprite
to Drumnatinne. "When the matrons awoke
they persuaded Ethnea that the appearance of
Biroge and her protege was only a dream, but
told her never to mention it to her father.

" Thus did matters remain until the daughter
of Balor brought forth three sons at a birth,
which, when Balor discovered, he immediately
secured the offspring, and sent them, rolled up
in a sheet (which was fastened with a delg or
pin), to be cast into a certain whirlpool ; but as
they were carried across a small harbour, on the
way to it, the ddg fell out of the sheet, and one of
the children dropped into the water, but the other
two were secured and drowned in the intended
whirlpool. The child that had fallen into the
harbour, though he apparently sunk to the bot-
tom, was invisibly carried away by the Banshee
who had cleared the way to his procreation, and
the harbour is to this day called Port-a-deilg, or
the Harbour of the Pin. The Banshee wafted the
child (the first, it appears, of the three, who had
seen the light of this world) across the Sound in
safety to his father, who sent him to be fostered
by his brother Gavida, who brought him up
to his own trade, which then ranked among
the learned professions, and was deemed of so
much importance that Brighit, the goddess of

3331.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

The Age of the World, 3331. The first year of the reign of Lugh Lamh-
fhada[Lewy of the Long Hand] over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3370. After the fortieth year of the reign of Lugh
Lamhfhada over Ireland, he fell by Mac Cuill at Caendruim*. It was in the

the poets, thought it not beneath her dignity to
preside over the smiths also.

" Balor, who now thought that he had again
baffled the fates by drowning the three children,
having learned from his Druid that Mac Kineely
was the man who had made this great effort to set
the wheel of his destiny in rapid motion, crossed
the Sound, and landing on that part of the con-
tinent called (from some more modern occupier)
Ballyconnell, with a band of his fierce associates,
seized upon Mac Kineely, and, laying his head
on a large white stone (one holding him upon
it by the long hair, and others by the hands and
legs) cut it off, clear, with one blow of his ponde-
rous sword 1 The blood flowed around in warm
floods, and penetrated the stone to its very cen-
tre. This stone, with its red veins, still tells this
deed of blood, and gives name to a district com-
prehending two parishes. It was raised, in 1794,
on a pillar sixteen feet high, by Wyby More
Olpherts, Esq., and his wife, who had carefully
collected all the traditions connected with Balor.
It is shewn to the curious traveller as Clogh-an-
Neely (the name which Wyby More has com-
mitted to the durability of marble, but the Four
Masters write it more correctly Cloc Chmn-
paolaio at the years 1284, 1554), and forms a
very conspicuous object in the neighbourhood.

" Notwithstanding all these efforts of Balor
to avert his destiny, the Banshee had executed
the will of the fates. For after the decollation of
Mac Kineely, Balor, now secure, as he thought,
in his existence, and triumphant over the fates,
frequented the continent without fear of oppo-
sition, and employed Gavida to make all his mi-
litary weapons. But the heir of Mac Kineely,
in course of time, grew up to be an able man,

and, being an excellent smith, Balor, who knew
nothing of his birth, became greatly attached to
him. The heir of Mac Kineely, who was well
aware of his father's fate, and acquainted with
the history of his own birth and escape from
destruction, was observed to indulge in gloomy
fits of despondency, and frequently to visit
the blood-stained stone, and to return from
it with a sullen brow which nothing could
smooth. One day Balor came to the forge to
get some spears made, and it happened that
Gavida was from home upon some private bu-
siness, so that all the work of that day was to
be executed by his young foster-son. In the
course of the day Balor happened to mention,
with pride, his conquest of Mac Kineely, but
to his own great misfortune, for the young
smith watched his opportunity, and, taking a
glowing rod from the furnace, thrust it through
the basilisk eye of Balor and out through the
other side of his head, thus avenging the death
of his father, slaying his grandfather, and exe-
cuting the decree of Fate, which nothing can
avert. ' Fatum regit, homines.'' "

Some say that this took place at Knocknafola,
or Bloodyforeland, but others, who place the
scene of Balor's death at Drumnatinne, account
for the name of Knocknafola by making it the
scene of a bloody battle between the Irish and
Danes. Tradition, however, errs as to the place
of Balor's death, for, according to Irish history,
he was killed by his grandson, Lughaidh Lamh-
fhada, in the second battle of Magh-Tuireadh —
See Oyygia, part iii. c. 12.

' Caendruim. — This was the ancient name of
the hill of Uisneach, in Westmeath, situated
about four miles south-east of the village of

Rioshachca eiReaNR [3371-

SCfl

npuim. ar , pfimfp an Lo^a oo ponaD aonach Ca,llrfn a bFopaicmfc 1
, cc«,mne ecca a buime, Ca,llce ,n5fn TTlajmmp ipme, ,njfn pi5 eappaine,
bfn Gachoac m,c Gipc, pf Oeofnac p<p mbolc an ceochaiO pa

QOIP Domain, cp, mile cpi ceo rfccmojac a haon. Qn cfo bl,at>a,n oo
nfre Gachoac Ollacaip Dap bamm an Oa5hoa 6r Gpmn inopin.

Cto,p Domain, cpi mOe cfcpe cfo cao5a. lap bpopbab na bliaDna OeD-
fnaijep Don occmo5ar bliaoan po ca,c Gocham Ollacap i naipDpi5e na
hGpfno, po ecc ir an mfcpuj DO 5afB cpo na 5ona Do pac Cechleno Faip hi
cceD carTTlai^e ruipfo.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile cfcpe cfo cao5a a haon. Qn cfo bliabain Do pije
Oealbaoic mic Osma op 6pinn innpin.

doir Domain, cpi mile cfcpe cfo Sfpcac. Ip an oeacmab bliaoam Do pije
Dealbaeic copcaip Do laim a mic pfipin, piaca mac Oealbaeic.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile cfcpa cfo ffpcac a haon. <3n cfo bliaOam oo
piaca mac Dealbaeic i pije.

Qoip Domain, rpi mile cfcpe cfo Seaccmogac. Q bpoipceano an oeac-
mab bliaoan DO pije piacaio mic Oealbaeic op 6pmn Do cuic la hGogon
nlnbip.

Ctoip Domain, cpi mile cfcpe cfo peaccmojac ahaon. Qn cfo bliabam

Ballymore- Lough -Sewdy. — See O'Flaherty's of the fair, where, according to tradition, mar-

Ogygia, part iii. c. xiii. riages were solemnized in Pagan times. There

u Tailltean. Now Teltown, near the Eiver are vivid traditions of this fair yet extant in the

Boyne, in the county of Meath, and nearly mid- country ; and Teltown was, till recently, resorted

way between Kells and Navan. This fair, at by the men of Meath for hurling, wrestling, and

which various games and sports were celebrated, other manly sports.

continued down to the time of Koderic O'Conor, w Brugh : i. e. Brugh-na-Boinne, a place on

the last monarch of Ireland. It was cele- the Eiver Boyne, near Stackallan Bridge, in the

brated annually on the first of August, which county of Meath. In the account of the Tuatha-

is still called Lugh-Nasadh, i. e. Lugh's fair, De-Dananns preserved in the Book of Lecan,

games or sports, by the native Irish — See Cor- foL 279, p. b. col. 2, it is stated that Daghda

mac's Glossary, in wee iujnayao. See also Mor (i.e. the Great Good Fire, so called from his

O'Flaherty's Ogygia, part iii. cc. xiii. Ivi. The military ardour), for eighty years king of Ire-

remaina of a large earthen rath, and traces of land, and that he had three sons, Aenghus, Aedh,

three artificial lakes, and other remains, are still and Cermad, who were buried with their father

to be seen there. To the left of the road, as at Brugh-na-Boinne, where the mound called

you go from Kells to Donaghpatrick, there is a Sidh-an-Bhrogha was raised over them, as a

hollow, called tag an aonaij, i. e. the hollow monument. It may be further remarked that

3371.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 23

reign of this Lugh that the fair of Tailltean" was established, in commemora-
tion and remembrance of his foster-mother, Taillte, the daughter of Maghmor,
King of Spain, and the wife of Eochaidh, son of Ere, the last king of the
Firbolgs.

The Age of the World, 3371. The first year of the reign of Eochaidh
Ollathair, who was named the Daghda, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3450. After the completion of the last year of
the eighty years which Eochaidh Ollathar passed in the monarchy of Ireland,
he died at Brugh", of the venom of the wound which Cethlennx inflicted upon
him in the first battle of Magh-Tuireadh.

The Age of the World, 3451. This was the first year of the reign of
Dealbhaeth, son of Ogma, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3460. In the tenth year of the reign of Dealbh-
aeth, he fell by the hand of his own son, Fiacha mac Dealbhaeith.

The Age of the World, 3461. The first year of the reign of Fiacha, the
son of Dealbhaeth.

The Age of the World, 3470. At the end of the tenth year of the reign
of Fiacha, son of Dealbhaeth, over Ireland, he fell by Eogon of Inbhery.

The Age of the World, 3471. The first year of the three last kings of the

Aeiigus-an-Bhrogha was considered the presid- tiquity, and prove that the Tuatha-Ue-Uananns

ing fairy of the Boyne till recently, and that were a real people, though their history is so

his name is still familiar to the old inhabitants much wrapped up in fable and obscurity,
of Meath, who are fast forgetting their traditions *Cethlenn. — Dr. O'Conor latinizes this Keth-

with the Irish language. For some account of lendius, as if it were the name of a man, but, ac-

the monuments which anciently existed at cording to the old accounts of the battle of Magh-

Brugh-na-Boinne, see Petrie's Inquiry into the Tuireadh, Cethlenn, who wounded the Daghda

Origin and Uses of the Hound Towers of Ireland, in the second battle of Magh-Tuireadh (not the

pp. 100, 101. The monuments ascribed by the first, as incorrectly stated by the Four Masters),

aucient Irish writers to the Tuatha-De-Danann was the wife of Balor Beimenn, and grandmo-

colony still remain, and are principally situated ther of Lugh Lamhfhada, who slew Balor in

in Meath, near the Boyne, as at Drogheda, the same battle. It is stated in the Annals of

Dowth, Knowth, and Newgrange. There are Clonmacnoise, that Inishkeihleann (Enniskillen,

other monuments of them at Cnoc-Aine and in Fermanagh) was called from her.

Cnoc-Greine, in the county of Limerick, and on y Eogan oflnbher O'Flaherty (Ogygia, p. iii.

the Pap Mountains, Da cic Oanainne, in the c. 14) calls him Eugenius de Ard-inver, or In-

S. E. of the county of Kerry. — See the year 861. vermor; Keating calls the place Ard- Brie ; but

These monuments are of the most remote an- we are not told where it is situated.

24

aNNQca Rioshachca emeaNR

[3500

no pije na ccpf pfoj noebfnach DO tuachaib Oe Oanann po baoap hi ccom-
plaiciup 6p Gpinn, TTlac Cuill, TTlac Cecc, -] TTlac Ejpeine innpn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mfle cu.cc cfo. Cap5up [.i. coblac] mac TTHlfch Do cechc
i nGpmo a bpoipcfno na blia&na po oia gabail ap Cuachaib Oe Oanann, 1 po
peppac cacSlebe TTlip ppiu ipn cpfp laice lap na ccecc hi ccip : ba ipn cac
pin DO pocaip Scoca injfn phapao bfn TTlileaDh, 1 aca pfpc Scoca fioep SleiB
TTlip 1 muip. Oo pocaip ano bfop pdp, bean Um, mic Uicce, Dia cca §lfnO
paip. Ro pfppac meic TTlilfch lap pn cac i cUaillcin ppi cpi piogaib
Cuaice Oe Oanann, TTlac Cuill, TTlac Cechc, -\ TTlac ^pfine. Ro bap 50
cian 05 cup in cacha 50 ccopcoip TTlac Cechc la hGipeamon, TTlac Cuill la
hGmeap, ~\ TTlac 5pf'ne ^a TiQimipsin.

derstand. Among these was Danann, the mother
of the gods, from whom Da etc Danamne, a
mountain in Kerry, was called; Buanann, the
goddess that instructed the heroes in military
exercises, the Minerva of the ancient Irish ;
Badhbh, the Bellona of the ancient Irish ;
Abhortach, god of music ; Ned, the god of war ;
Nemon, his wife ; Manannan, the god of the
sea; Diancecht, the god of physic; Brighit, the
goddess of poets and smiths, &c. It appears
from a very curious and ancient Irish tract,
written in the shape of a dialogue between
St. Patrick and Caoilte Mac Ronain, that there
were very many places in Ireland where the
Tuatha-De-Dananns were then supposed to live
as sprites or fairies, with corporeal and material
forms, but indued with immortality. The in-
ference naturally to be drawn from these stories
is, that the Tuatha-De-Dananns lingered in the
country for many centuries after their subjuga-
tion by the Gaedhil, and that they lived in re-
tired situations, where they practised abstruse
arts, which induced the others to regard them
as magicians. So late as the third century,
Aine, the daughter of Eogabhal, a lady of this
race, was believed to be resident at Cnoc-Aine,
in the county of Limerick, where she was ra-
vished by Oilioll Olum, king of Munster. It

1 Mac Cuill, fyc. — According to an old Irish
poem, quoted by Keating in his History of Ire-
land (See Haliday's edition, p. 212), the real
names of these kings were Eathur, Teathur,
and Ceathur ; and the first was called Mac Cuill,
because he worshipped the hazel tree ; the se-
cond, Mac Ceacht, because he worshipped the
plough, evidently alluding to his wish to pro-
mote agriculture; and the third, Mac Greine,
because he worshipped the sun as his god. For
some fanciful disquisitions upon the history and
names of these kings the reader is referred to
Vallancey's Vindication of Irish History, p. 496.
In Mageoghegan's translation of the Annals of
Clonmacnoise, it is stated that " this people,
Tuathy De Danan, ruled Ireland for 197 years;
that they were most notable magicians, and
would work wonderful thinges by magick and
other diabolicale arts, wherein they were ex-
ceedingly well skilled, and in these days ac-
compted the chiefest in the world in that pro-
fession." From the many monuments ascribed
to this colony by tradition, and in ancient Irish
historical tales, it is quite evident that they were
a real people ; and from their having been consi-
dered gods and magicians by the Gaedhil or Scoti,
who subdued them, it maybe inferred that they
were skilled in arts which the latter did not un-

am]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

Tuatha-De-Dananns, who were in joint sovereignty over Ireland. These were
Mac Cuillz, Mac Ceacht, and Mac Greine.

The Age of the World, 3500. The fleet of the sons of Milidh" came to
Ireland at the end of this year, to take it from the Tuatha-De-Dananns ; and
they fought the battle of Sliabh Mis with them on the third day after landing.
In this battle fell Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh, wife of Milidh ; and the grave
of Scota" is [to be seen] between Sliabh Mis and the sea. Therein also fell
Fas, the wife of Un, son of Uige, from whom is [named] Gleann-Faisic. After
this the sons of Milidh fought a battle at Tailtinnd, against the three kings of
the Tuatha-De-Dananns, Mac Cuill, Mac Ceacht, and Mac Greine. The battle
lasted for a long time, until Mac Ceacht fell by Eiremhon, Mac Cuill by
Eimhear, and Mac Greine by Amhergin.

looks very strange that our genealogists trace
the pedigree of no family living for the last
thousand years to any of the kings or chieftains
of the Tuatha-De-Dananns, while several fami-
lies of Firbolgic descent are mentioned as in
Hy-Many, and other parts of Connaught. — See
Tribes and Customs of Hy-Many, p. 85-90, and
O'Flaherty's Ogijgia, part iii. c. 1 1. The tract
above alluded to as in the shape of a dialogue
between St. Patrick and Caoilte Mac Ronain,
preserves the ancient names of many monu-
ments of both these colonies, as well as of their
conquerors, the Gaedhil or Scoti, now lost to
tradition, and is, therefore, well worthy of pub-
lication. There are two imperfect vellum copies
of it extant, but from the two a perfect copy
could probably be obtained ; one in the Bod-
leian Library, Laud. 610, fol. 123 to 146, and
the other in the Book of Lismore, the original
of which is in the possession of the Duke of De-
vonshire, and a fac-simile copy in the Library of
the Royal Irish Academy.

* The fleet of the sons of Milidh — Nennius, a
British writer who flourished about the year
850, says that they came to Ireland with a fleet
of 120 ciuli. Mageoghegan, in his translation
of the Annals of Cloumacuoise, adds, that the

sons of Miletus (Milesius) arrived in Ireland
on the 17th of May, 1029 years before the
birth of Christ. As authority for this he re-
fers to a work on Irish history, by " Calogh
O'More, who was a very worthy gentleman, and
a great searcher of antiquity ;" but he adds, that
" Philip O'Soullevane, in his printed work, de-
dicated to Philip the Fourth, King of Spain,
sayeth that they came in the year before the
birth of our Saviour, 1342, which is from this
time present (1627), the number of 2969 years,
Laesthenes being then the thirty-third Monarch
of the Assyrians." — See O'Sullivan's Hist. Ca-
thol. Iber. Compendium, torn. i. lib. iii. c. i. p. 32.

b The grave of Scota. — This is still pointed out
in the valley of Gleann-Scoithin, townland of
Clahane, parish of Annagh, barony of Trougha-
nacmy, and county of Kerry. — See Ordnance
Map of Kerry, sheet 38. Sliabh Mis, anglice
Slieve Mish, is a mountain in the same barony.

c Gleann-Faisi. — Keating states that this val-
ley was so called in his own time. It is now
called Glenofaush, and is situated in the town-
land of Knockatee, parish of Ballycashlane, in
the same barony — See Ordnance Map, sheet 40.

d Tailltin. — Now Tel town, in Meath. — See
note °, p. 19, svprd.

E

26

[3501.

Copcpacup cpa a ccfopa Riojna, 6pe la Suip5e, porla la hGaoan, -,
banba la Cmchfp. Ro rraoinea6 an each pa ofoib pop Cuachaib De Da-
nann, -] po machcaic in 5ac mai5in i rcappupcap mo. Copcparap o macoib
TTlileab Don leich ele od caoipioc aipfsoa 05 plaije an maDma, Puao i Sleibh
PUOID, i Cuailjne i Sleib Cuailgne.

doip Domain cpi TTIile cuig cfo a haon. dp f po bliaDam in po gab Gpea-
mon -| Grheap comptainup op Gpino, -| po panopacc 6pe ap DO froppa. dp
innce bfop DO ponao na jnioriia po piop la hGipeamon ~\ la hSriiep co na
ccaoipiochaib. Rdrh bfochaij op 6oip i nQpsacc Rop,-| l?dr Oinn i ccpich
Cualann, lahGipeamon, cocap Inbip moip, i ccpich Ua nGneachjlap Cualann,
la hQimepsm, cumoach Oume Nctip i Sleib TTIoDaipn, la ^oipcen, Dun Oel-
ginnpi i ccpfc Cualann la Seoga, Dun Sobaipce i TTlupbolg Dal Riaoa la
Sobaipce, i Dun Gaoaip la Suipje. La h6pearhon co na caoipiochaib Do
ponab innpm. Rach Uamain i Laijnib la hGrheap. Rach Clpoa SuipD la
hGacan mac nUice, Cappacc pechaije la hUn mac nUicce, Cappacc bla-

* Sliabh Fuaid: i.e. Fuad's mountain, a moun-
tain near Newtown Hamilton, in the county of
Armagh, much celebrated in Irish history —
See note y, under the year 1607-

f Sliabh Cuailgne. — Now Sliabh Cuailghe, an-
glice Cooley mountains, situated near Carling-
ford, in the north of the county of Louth.

g Rath-Beothaigh. — Now Rathbeagh, a town-
land on the banks of the River Eoir or Feoir,
anglice the Nore, in a parish of the same name,
barony of Galmoy, and county of Kilkenny. —
See the Ordnance Map of that county, sheets 9
and 10.

h Argat-Ros : i. e. the Silver Wood, was the
name of a woody district on the Nore, in the
territory of Ui-Duach. — See it referred to as a
lordship, under the year 851.

lBath- Oinn — Now probably Rathdown. Crich-
Cualann is included in the present county of
Wicklow.

11 Inbher-mkor — This was the ancient name of
the mouth of the Abhainn-mhor, or Ovoca,
which discharges itself into the sea at the town

of Arklow, in the county of Wicklow. This
tochar is still traceable, and gives name to a
townland near Arklow.

1 Ui-Eineacliglais- Cualann — This was the name
of a territory comprised in the present barony
of Arklow. It derived its name from Breasal
Eineachglas, one of the sons of Cathair Mor,
King of Ireland in the second century.

mDun-Nair, inSliabhMudhoirn Now obsolete.

Sliabh Modhairn was the ancient name of a range
of heights near Ballybay, in the barony of Cre-
morne, and county of Monaghan. In Kinfaela's
poem on the travels, &c. of the Milesians, it is
stated that Cumhdach-Nair was on Sliabh Mis.

n Dun-Deilginnsi: i. e. the Dun or Fort of Deil-
ginis, which was the ancient name of Dalkey
Island, near Dublin, not Delgany, in the county
of Wicklow, as is generally supposed. The lat-
ter place, which is not an island, was called, in
Irish, Deirgne-Mochorog — See O'Clery's Irish
Calendar, at 22nd December.

0 Dun-Sobhairce in Murbholg of Dal-Riada

Now Dunseverick, an isolated rock on which are

3501.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 27

Their three queens were also slain ; Eire by Suirghe, Fodhla by Edan, and
Banba by Caicher. The battle was at length gained against the Tuatha-De-Da-
nanns, and they were slaughtered, wherever they were overtaken. There fell
from the sons of Milidh, on the other hand, two illustrious chieftains, in fol-
lowing up the rout, [namely] Fuad at Sliabh Fuaid6, and Cuailgne at Sliabh
Cuailgnef.

The Age of the World, 3501. This was the year in which Eremhon and
Emher assumed the joint sovereignty of Ireland, and divided Ireland into two
parts between them. It was in it, moreover, that these acts following were done
by Eremhon and Emher, with their chieftains : Rath-Beothaigh*, over the Eoir
in Argat-Ros", and Rath-Oinn' in Crich-Cualann, [were erected] by Eremhon.
The causeway of Inbher-mor", in the territory of Ui Eineachglais-Cualann1, [was
made] by Amergin. The erection of Dun Nair, in Sliabh Modhairnm, by Gosten;
Dun-Deilginnsi", in the territory of Cualann, by Sedgha ; Dun-Sobhairce, in
Murbholg Dal-Riada°, by Sobhairce ; and Dun Edairp by Suirghe. By Eremhon
and his chieftains these were erected. Rath- Uamhainq, in Leinster, by Emhear ;
Rath-Arda-Suirdr by Etan, son of Uige ; Carraig-Fethaighe* by Un, son of Uige ;

some fragments of the ruins of a castle, near the ' Rath- Uamhain: i. e. the Rath or Fort of the
centre of a small bog, three miles east of the Cave. This is probably Eathowen, in Wexford.
Giants' Causeway, in the county of Antrim. No — See Inquisition, 38 Car. I. It is called Rath-
portion of the original dun, or primitive fort, now Eomhain by Keating. — See his History of Ireland,
remains — See the Dublin Penn,y Journal, vol. i. Haliday's edition, p. 302.

p. 361. It should be here remarked that Murbholg ' Rath-arda-Suird. — In Kinfaela's poem the
of Dal-Riada was the ancient name of the small erection of this fort is ascribed to Fulman, and
bay opposite this rock, and that Murlough Bay, that of Rath-Righbaird is attributed to Edan,
in the same county, was also anciently called which is more correct, as it appears that, in the
Murbholg. This fort was not erected during the distribution of territory, the province of Con-
reign of Eremhon and Emhear, for Sobhairce, naught, in which Rath-Righbaird is situated, fell
after whom it was named, nourished a consider- to the lot of Un and Edan. Fulman was seated
able time after; and in Kinfaela's poem, though in Munster, which was Ember's or Heber's par-
Dun-Sobhairce«is given among the forts erected ticular portion of the island, and not the nor-
by the sons of Milidh and their followers, it them portion, as Giraldus erroneously states,
adds, lap realao, j_ ^ « af^j. some time." The fort called Rath-arda-Suird was situated
P Dun-Etair. — This fort, which was otherwise on the hill of Rath-tSiuird, about half a mile
called Dun-Crimhthainn, was situated on the to the north- west of the old church of Donagh-
Hill of Howth, near Dublin. Dr. Petrie states more, near the city of Limerick. The site of the
that its site is occupied by the Bailie's Light- rath is now occupied by the ruins of a castle,
house.— See Dun-Crimthainn, A. D. 9. ' Carraig-Fethaigh.—Aa Un was one of the

E 2

28

[3502.

paige la TTlancan, Dun QpDinne la Caichfp, T?ach RiojbaipO i TTlu,rircc la
pulman. Ca hGmip co na caoipiochaib innpin.

Ro pap impiupam i poipceann na bliaDna ro ecip Gpfmon -\ eriieap im na
rpfb opuimnib oippbfpca, Opuim Clapaij i cCpich Tllaine, Opuim bfchaij
i maonmaij.i Opuim Pmgin i TTlumain. pfprap each fcoppa ay allop ap
bpu 6pi Dam a5 Cochap ecep Da maj. dp ppipme apbfpap car ^eipille.
TTleabaiD an car pop eriieap, -| DO cfp ano. Copcpacap Dna rpi caoipij
aipfgoa DO muincip Gpeamoin ipin car cfona. ^oipcen, Secja, -j Suipge a
nanmanna. ^abaip Gpfmon an pije lap pin.

Qoip Domain, cpf mill cuicc cfo aoo. Qn cfio bliaDam DO pije Gpeariiom
op epinn.i an oapa bliaDam lap ccechc DO macoib TTlfleaD, Do pann Gpfmon
Gpe. Oo pao coicceaD Ula6 DGmeap mac Ip, an TTluma Do cficpe macoib
Gmip pmo; coigeaD Connacc oUn -\ oGaoan, -] coicceaD Caijfn Do Cpiorh-
rann Sciachbel DO Oomnanocoib.

two chieftains seated in Connaught, it may be
conjectured that his fort or residence was situated
at Rath-Uin, anglice Rahoon, near the town of
Gal way. — See Chorographical Description of West
Connauglti, edited by Hardiman, p. 56, note ".

1 Carraig-Blaraighe. — Called by Keating Curii-
oac Caipje 6la6pai6e, the edifice of Carrig-
Bloyree. The Editor never met any topogra-
phical name in Ireland like Bladhraidhe, except
Blyry in the barony of Brawney, and county of
Westmeath. — Ordnance Map, sheet 29.

uDun-Airdinne — Called Dun-Inn by Keating
(vbi supra), who states that it is situated in the
west of Ireland. It is now unknown.

w Rath-Righbaird in Muiresc. — This fort is
mentioned in the Annotations on the Life of St.
Patrick, by Tirechan, in the Book of Armagh,
in which it is called in Latin Fossa Riabairt.
The church of Bishop Bronus, now Killaspug-
brone, near the hill of Knocknarea, in the ba-
rony of Carbury and county of Sligo, is referred
to as built near this fort.

1 Druim-Clasach in Crick-Maine According

to the Life of St. Greallan, patron saint of Crich-

Maine, or Hy-Many, this Druim, or long hill, or
ridge, is situated in Hy-Many, between Lough

Ree and the River Suck See Tribes and Customs

of Hy-Many, p. 10.

* Druim-Beathaigh in Maenmhagh. — This was
the ancient name of a remarkable ridge extend-
ing across the plain of Maenmagh, near the town
of Loughrea, in the county of Galway. The
name is obsolete, but the ridge is identifiable.

* Druim- Finghin in Munster : i. e. Fineen's
ridge. This name is still in use, and applied to
a long ridge of high ground dividing the barony
of Decies-within-Drum, from that of Decies-
without-Drum, in the county of Waterford. It
extends from near Castle- Lyons, in the county
of Cork, to Ringoguanach, on the south side of
the bay of Dungarvan.

" Bri-Damh : i. e. the hill of the Oxen. This
is referred to in the Tripartite Life of St. Pa-
trick, published by Colgan (Trias Thaum., p. 1 60),
as Mons Bri-damk ; but there is no mountain
near Geshill, nor any hill higher than 355
feet. In a description of the site of this battle,
preserved in the Dinnsenchus (as given in the

3502.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

29

Carraig-Blaraighe' by Mantan ; Dun-Ardinneu by Caicher ; Rath-Righbaird, in
Muiresg", by Fulman. By Emher and his chieftains these [were erected].

A dispute arose at the end of this year, between Eremhon and Emhear, about
the three celebrated hills, Druim Clasaighx, in Crich-Maine ; Druim-Beathaigh,
in Maenmhagh7; and Druim Finghin, in Munsterz. In consequence of which
a battle was fought between them, on the brink of Bri-Damh", at Tochar-eter-
da-mhagh ; and this is called the battle of Geisill. The battle was gained upon
Emhear, and he fell therein. There fell also three distinguished chieftains of the
people of Eremhon in the same battle ; Goisten, Setgha, and Suirghe, [were]
their names. After this Eremhon assumed the sovereignty6.

The Age of the World, 3502. The first year of the reign of Eremhon over
Ireland ; and the second year after the arrival of the sons of Milidh, Eremhon
divided Ireland. He gave the province of Ulster to Emhear, son of Ir ; Munster
to the four sons of Emhear Finn0; the province ofConnaught tolln andEadan;
and the province of Leinster to Crimhthann Sciathbhel" of the Damnonians.

Book of Ballymote, fol. 193), it is stated that
there were many mounds at this place, in which
Emhear, Ever, or Heber, and the other chieftains
slain in the battle, were interred. The name
Tochar-eter-da-mhagh, denotes the togher or
causeway between the two plains, and the name
is partly still preserved in that of the townland
of 6aile an cocaip, anglice Ballintogher, i. e.
the Town of the Causeway, in the parish and
barony of Geshill, and near the village of the
same name. The territory of the two plains,
in Irish, Cucic ou riiuij, and anglicised Teth-
moy, was the name of a considerable territory
in the ancient Offally, comprising the baronies
of Warrenstown and Coolestown, in the east of
the King's County, as appears from an old map
of Leix and Ophaly, preserved in the British
Museum.

11 Assumed the sovereignty : i. e. became sole
monarch of Ireland.

'Emhear Finn : generally anglicised HeberFinn.
The inhabitants of the south of Ireland are con-
stantly designated by the appellation of Siol

6imip, or Sliocc6iBip, by the Irish poets down
to the present century. Giraldus is evidently
wrong in stating that Heberus possessed the
northern portion of Ireland.

* Crimhthann Sciathbhel. — lie was of the Fir-
bolgic colony. Keating, in his History of Ireland,
and the O'Clerys, in their Leabkar-Gabkala,
give an account of the arrival of the Cruithnigh
or Picts iu Ireland, at this time, and of their final
settlement in Alba or Scotland, having received
from Eremhon, or Heremon, the widows of the
Milesian chieftains who had been drowned on the
expedition from Spain. — See Keating's History of
Ireland; O'Flaherty's Ogygia, part iii, c. 18 ;
O'Halloran, vol. ii. c. 4 ; and the Irish translation
of Nennius's Historia Britonum, in which Doctor
Todd has inserted the various accounts of the
arrival of the Picts in Ireland. It is stated in
the Irish accounts, that the Picts, on this occa-
sion, pledged themselves solemnly that, should
they become masters of that country they were
about to invade, the sovereignty thereof should
be ever after vested in the descendants of the

30

[3503.

tea, m5fn Lui5beac, m,c Iche, cu5 epfmon ,r,n erPdin cap cfnD Ot>ba,
ar f an Cea ro cona,ccfrro,p 50 hepfmon culo,j cogaibe ma cionpccpa
cec,p maisean ipaegbao, 50,1.06 innre no habnaicn, n no coccaibce a mup n
a Ii5e, ! 50 mab ano no b,a6 5ac p105opDan no 5f>nF'oD Dia pfol 50 bpar.
ar mo na para conOo5a,b aipe im a comall 01, dim^m ^lumjeal n
emeappionn. Ipeab mpom 60 pacgip Dpuim Caom .,. teamuip. Ctr uaice
ponceap, -| ar innce po habnachc.

Obba ona macaip TTluimne, -\ Luijne, i Laijne Decc5o po haonachc i

nObba.

Cach Cuile Caichip, i copcaip Caiceap Id hQirinp^n n

biiabomfi, n Focrfr « KF Tin mal5in rin cona6 Ua6a D0

Caichip.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile cuicc cfo a cpi. Qn oapa bliabam DO pije Gpf-
moin op Gpinn. Qimipsin ^lumseal mac TTlileab DO cuicim hi ccac bile
cinfb an bliabainp la hGpearhon. Uomaibm naoi mbpopac .1. aib'ne nGle,

an

female rather than the male line. — See also
Bede's Hist. Eccl. lib. i. c. 1.

• In preference to Odhb/ia. — It is stated in the
Book of Lecan, and in the Leabhar-Gabhcda of
the O'Clerys, that Heremon, who was otherwise
called Geide Ollgothach, had put away his lawful
wife, Odhbha, the mother of his elder children,
Muimhne, Luighne, and Laighne, and married
Tea, the daughter of Lughaidh mac Itha, from
whom Tara was named Tea- mur, i.e. the mound
of Tea ; that Odhbha followed her children to
Ireland, and died of grief from being repudiated
by her husband, and was interred at Odhbha,
in Meath, where her children raised a mound to
her memory See note ', infra.

{ Dower: cmnpcpa. — The cmnpcpa was a re-
ward always given by the husband to the wife,
at their marriage, a custom which prevailed
among the Jews, and is still observed by the
Turks and other eastern nations. — See Genealo-
gies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, p. 207,
note T.

8 Druim-Caoin: i. e. the Hill of Caen, a man's

name. It was the name of Tara Hill among the
Firbolgs — See Petrie's Antiquities of Tara Hill,
p. 108.

11 From her it was called: i. e. from her it was
called Teamhair. This story is told somewhat
better in Mageoghegan's translation of the An-
nals of Clonmacnoise, as follows :

" But first, before they landed on this land,
Tea, the daughter of Louthus, that was wife
of Heremon, desired one request of her said
husband and kinsmen, which they accordingly
granted, which was, that the place she should
most like of in the kingdom should be, for ever
after, called by her name; and that the place so
called should be ever after the principal seat of
her posterity to dwell in ; and upon their land-
ing she chose Ley try mm" [6iac-bpuim], "which
is, since that time, called Taragh, where the
King's pallace stood for many hundred years
after, and which she caused to be called Tea-
mur. Mur, in Irish, is a town or pallace in
English, and being joyned to Tea, maketh it to
be the house, pallace, or town of Tea."

3503.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

31

Tea, daughter of Lughaidh; son of Ith, whom Eremhon married in Spain, to
the repudiation of Odhbha6, was the Tea who requested of Eremhon a choice
hill, as her dowerf, in whatever place she should select it, that she might be
interred therein, and that her mound and her gravestone might be thereon
raised, and where every prince ever to be born of her race should dwell. The
guarantees who undertook to execute this for her were Amhergin Gluingeal
and Emhear Finn. The hill she selected was Druim-Caeins, i. e. Teamhair. It
is from her it was called", • and in it was she interred.

Odhbha, the mother of Muimhne, Luighne, and Laighne, died, and was
interred at Odhbha'.

The battle of Cuil Caichirj, in which Caicher was slain by Amergin Gluin-
geal, [was fought] this year ; and his grave was dug in that place, so that from
him Cuil Caichir was named.

The Age of the World, 3503. The second year of the reign of Eremhon
over Ireland. Amhergin Gluingeal, son of Milidh, fell in the battle of Bile-
tineadh" this year by Eremhon. The eruption of the nine Brosnachs1, i. e. rivers

This derivation is, however, evidently legen-
dary, for Ceariiaip was very common in Ireland
as a woman's name, and it was applied to more
hills than Teamhair, in Meath : as Teamhair
Luachra, in Kerry, and TeamhairBhrogha-Niadh,
in Leinster. In Cormac's Glossary it is stated,
that the cearhaip of a house means a grianan,
i. e. a bower, boudoir, or balcony, and that ceam-
aip of the country means a hill commanding a
pleasant prospect. That this is evidently the
true meaning of the term is further manifest
from the use of it in old Irish writings, as in
the following passage in an Irish tract describ-
ing the Siege of Troy, in H. 2, 15, "Oo ponao
Ona cpeb cam cumbacca -| popab leip pop
Ceamaip -) oinjna na carpac DO oalluc -|
o'poipoecpm -\ oo DiuBpacao." " Then was
erected a fine, protecting house, and a look-out
tower upon the teamhair and digna of the city,
to reconnoitre, view, and discharge [weapons]."

' Odhbha — This was the name of a mound on

the summit of a hill giving name to a territory
in the ancient Meath, which is mentioned in
O'Dugan's topographical poem as the lordship
of O'h-Aedha, a name now usually anglicised
Hughes — See it mentioned at A. D. 890 and
1016. The name, which would be anglicised
Ovey, is now obsolete. There is another place
of this name in Partry-of-the-inountain, on the
west side of Lough Mask, in the county of Mayo,
generally called Odhbha-Ceara, and anglicised
Ballovey.

j Cuil- Caichir : i. e. Caicher's corner, or angle,
now unknown.

*Bile-tineadh: i. e. the ancient Tree of the Fire.
This is said to be in Cula-Breagh, and is the place
now called Coill a' Bhile, anglice Billywood, in
the parish of Moynalty, barony of Lower Kells,
and county Meath.

1 Nine Brosnachs.-r-Tbere are only two rivers
of this name at present. The other seven were
only small tributary streams to these.

32

emeaNH.

[3504.

nao, Rije .,. aibne Laijfn, n ceopa nllmpionn Ua nOiliolla ipin bliaDam

cfona.

doip Domain, cpi mile cuicc cfo a pe. Cln cn,5eaD bliaDam Do pi5e
Gpfmoin pulman 1 ITlannnan Do cuicim lap an pig i each 6peo5am ,
bpemean,! comaibm na loch po in blia&am cfona. Loc Cimbe, Loc buaboij,
Loch 6aa6, Loc Ren, Loc pionnmaije, Loc ^peine, Loc Riach, Loch Da
Caoch i Laijmb, •} Loc Laoj mo Ulcoib.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile cuic cfo a ofich. Qn naomaD blia&ain Do pije
Gpfmoin Do cfp Un, Gn, -] Gaoan laip i ccac Compaipe i miDe. Comamm
Gichne i nUib Nell, na cfopa Socc i Connachcaib, ~[ Ppegabail ecin Ddl
nQpaibe -\ Oal Riaoa an blia&ampi. Qibne laopiDe.

m Nine Righes There are only four rivers

of this name in Leinster at present ; one near
Callan, in the county of Kilkenny ; the second
flowing between the counties of Kildare and
Meath, and paying its tribute to the Liffey, near
Lucan; and the third in the county of Wicklow,
and uniting with the Liffey near Blessington;
and the fourth in the north-west of the Queen's
County.

0 Three Uinsionns — UKOiliolla, or Tir-Oili-
olla, is the barony of Tirerrill, in the county of
Sligo ; but there is no river now bearing the
name of Uinsionn in this barony.

0 Breoahan in Feimhin. — Feimhin was the
name of a level plain in the south-east of the
now county of Tipperary, comprised in the pre-
sent baronies of Iffa and Offa East ; but the
name Breoghan is now obsolete.

p Loch Cimbe : more usually written Loch
Cime, now Lough Hackett, in the barony of
Clare, and county of Galway. — See O'Flaherty's
Ogygia, part iii. c. 17, and part iii. c. 79, where
the same lake is called Loch Sealga ; but this is
a mistake, for Loch Sealga is near Carn-Traoich,
not far from Tulsk, in the county of Roscommon.

q Loch Buadhaigh: i. e. the lake of the victo-
rious man. Not identified.

' Loch Baadh — Now Lough Baah, near Cas-

tle Plunkett, in the county of Eoscommon.
Charles O'Conor, of Belanagare, resided near
this lake before he succeeded to his father's
estate.

* Loch Ren This name still exists, and is

applied to a small lake near Fenagh, in the
plain of Magh Rein, in the county of Leitrim.
It is situated on the northern boundary of the
townland of Fenaghbeg.

' Loch Finnmhaighe. — This name is preserved
on the Down Survey, as Lough Fenvoy. It is
situated in the barony of Carrigallen, and county
of Leitrim, and is now called Garadice Lough —
See note ', under the year 1 257, and note *, under
1386.

u Loch Greine: i. e. the Lake of Grian (a wo-
man's name), now Lough Graney, in the north
of the county of Clare — See map to Tribes and
Customs of Hy-Many.

w Loch Riach — Now Lough Reagh, near the
town of the same name in the county of Galway.

"Loch Da Chaech — This was the ancient
name of Waterford harbour between Leinster
and Munster.

y Loch Laegh — This is translated " lacus vi-
tuli," by Adamnan. The position of this lough
is determined by the ancient ecclesiastical Irish
writers, who place the church of Cill Kuaidh,

3506.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

33

of Eile; of the nine Righesm, i. e. rivers of Leinster; and of the three Uinsionns"
of Hy-Oiliolla.

The Age of the World, 3506. The fifth year of the reign of Eremon.
Fulman and Man tan fell by the king in the battle of Breogan, in Feimhin0; and
the eruption of the following lakes [took place] in the same year : Loch Cimbe",
Loch Buadhaigh", Loch Baadhr, Loch Ren', Loch Finnmhaighe', Loch Greineu,
Loch Riach", Loch Da-Chaechx, in Leinster, and Loch Laeghy, in Ulster.

The Age of the World, 3510. The ninth year of the reign of Eremon,
Un, En, and Edan, fell by him in the battle of Comhrairez, in Meath. The
eruption of Eithne, in Ui-Neill'.; of the three Socs", in Connaught ; and of the
Fregabhailc, between Dal-Araidhe and Dal-Riada, this year. These are rivers.

now Kilroot, on its brink. It is now called
Belfast Lough, close upon the margin of which
some remains of this church are still to be
seen.

' Comhraire — There was a church erected at
this place by St. Colman mac Fintain (the bro-
ther of St. Fursa of Peronne), whose festival
•was celebrated here on the 25th of September.
The place is now called in Irish Cill Compaipe,
•which is anglicised Kilcomreragh. It is situated
near the hill of Uisneach, in the barony of Moy-
cashel, and county of Westmeath. — See the Fei-
lire Aenguis, at 16th November; the Irish Calen-
dar of O'Clery, at 25th September; and Colgan's
Ada Sanctorum, p. 95, col. 2.

* Eithne, in Ui-NeiU. — Now the Eiver Inny,
•which discharges itself into Lough Ree, to the
south-west of Ballymahon, in the county of West-
meath. By the name Ui-Neill is meant terra
Nepotum Nettl, the ancient Meath having been
so called in later ages, because it was divided
among the sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages,
and possessed by their descendants till the Eng-
lish Invasion. It would have been more cor-
rect to call this territory " Midhe," at this early
period. The River Eithne was originally called
Glaisi-Bearamain, and is said to have derived
its present name from Eithne, daughter of King

Eochaidh Feidhleach, and wife of Conchobhar
Mac Nessa, King of Ulster in the first century.
— See the Book of Lecan, fol. 175, a. b. This
river formed the boundary between North and
South Teffia in St. Patrick's time — See Ogygia,
part iii. c. 85.

b The three Socs. — Michael Brennan, in his Irish
poem on the River Shannon, states that the three
Sucks of Connaught are the rivers still called the
Suck and its tributaries, theSheffin and the River

of Clonbrock, in the county of Galway See

note ", under A. D. 1263, where the course of the
main branch of the Ceopa Suca is described.

c Freghabhail — Now the Ravel Water, which
rises in a small lake called Aganamunican, on
the mountain of Slieveanee, in the parish of Du-
naghy, in the county of Antrim, and, flowing
through the valley of Glenravel, to which it
gives name, joins the Dungonnell River near
the old burial ground of Deschart, whence
their united waters flow in a south-east course
until they fall into the Maine Water, near Glary

ford See Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,

Connor, and Dromore, by the Rev. William
Reeves, M. B., M. R. I. A., pp. 334, 335. The
territory of Dal-Araidhe extended from Newry
to this river ; and that of Dal-Riada comprised
the remainder of the county of Antrim.

34 aNNQta Ric-shachca eiReawN. [3517.

Qoip Domain, rpi mfle cuicc cfo a re Decc. Qn cuicceab bliabain t>ecc
oGpeamon i pije, n a ecc a poipceann na pee pin i Rdic beoraij or Goip i

nQpjjac Ropy.

Qoip Ooihoin, rpi mile cuicc cfo a pfchc Decc. Qn cfo bliabain Do
TTIuimne, DO Uijne, -] DO Laijne, clann epfrhoin i ccoirhpije op 6pmn.

Qoip Domain, cpf mile cuicc cfo a naoi Decc. 1 ppoipcfnn na ccpf
mbliaban po acbarh TTIuimne i cCpuacham, Luighne -| Laijjne copcparop hi
ccach Qpoa Labpann la macaib Gmip.

6p, Opba, peapon, -] Pepjen cfirpe meic Gmep Ificbliabain Doib. Qp
hi a leicbliabampi "\ leicblia&oin Nuabaicn Neachc DO m bliaoam corhlan,-|
ap 05 an pij Nuaba Neachc aipimnp f i naoip Domain. Uopcpacop an clanD
pin 6mip la hlpial pdib, mac nGpfmom,! ccac Cuile TTIapra lap bpopbaD na
Ificbliabna pempdire.

Ctoip Domain, cpi mile cuicc cfo pice anaoi. Q bpoipcfnO an Dfcmab
bliabain po Ipiail pdib mic Gpfmom hi pije, puaip bap i TTlai^ TTluaiDe. Qp
lap an Ipial ppaib po po cuipic na caca po. Car Guile TTlapca, Cac CtpDa
Inmaoich hi Ueachba i cropcaip Scipne mac Ouib mic porhoip, car Ufn-
maije i ccopcaip Gocha Gachceann pf pomoipe,-] Car Locmaije i ccopcaip
Luj l?och, mac TTlopemip, opfpoib bolg. Qp i naimpip an Ipeoil cfona
plfccab na maj, cogbail na pdch, -| robpucrab na naibneab po. Qciao na
maije, Tllagh Sele i nUib Nell, TTIajh nGle la Caijmu, TTlajh Rechfc, TPajh
Sanaip i Connachcaib, TTlajh Uechc la hUib mac Uaip, TTIa^h pairne la

^Argot-Ross. — See note under A.M. 3501, sup. Muaidhe, now Knockmoy, six miles south-east

eArd-Ladhrann — See note d, A. M. 2242, sup. of Tuam, in the county of Galway, which is

' Fergen — Called Feorgna in Mageoghegan'a probably the place alluded to in the text. — See

Annak of Clonmacnoise, in Keating's History of Tribes and Customs of Hy- Many, p. 6.

Ireland, and most of the genealogical accounts k Ard-Inmhaoith Would be anglicised Ard-

of the race of Heber-Finn. invy, but the name is obsolete.

' trial Faidh. — Called "Irialus Vates" by ' Tenmaoith This plain is referred to as in

Dr. Lynch and O'Flaherty, and "Iriell the Pro- Connaught, under A. M. 3549, but the name is

phet," by Connell Mageoghegan. now unknown.

" Cuil-Marta.—Not identified. It is called m Lochmaghe. — This is probably Loughma,

Cuilmartra by O'Flaherty. near Thurles, in the county of Tipperary See

Magh Muaidhe — This may be the plain of Luachmagh, A. D. 1598.

the River Moy, flowing between the counties of n Magh-Sde in Ui-Neitt: i. e. the Plain of the

Mayo and Sligo, in Connaught; but the name Eiver Sele, in the country of the southern Ui-

was also applied to a plain near the hill of Cnoc Neill, that is, Meath. The River Sele, which

3516.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 35

The Age of the World, 3516. The fifteenth year of the reign of Eremhon;
he died at the end of this period at Rath-Beothaigh over the Eoir, in Argat-Ross".

The Age of the World, 3517. The first year of the joint reign of Muimhne,
Luighne, and Laighne, sons of Eremon, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3519. At the end of these three years Muimhne
died at Cruachain. Luighne and Laighne fell in the battle of Ard-Ladhrone by
the sons of Emhear.

Er, Orba, Fearon, and Fergenf, the four sons of Emer, reigned half a year.
This half year and the half year of Nuadhat Neacht make a full year ; and to
Nuadhat Neacht it is reckoned in the age of the world. These sons of Emer
were slain by Irial Faidhs, son of Eremon, in the battle of Cuil-Martah, at the
end of the half year aforesaid.

The Age of the World, 3520. At the end of this, the tenth year of the
reign of Irial Faidh, son of Eremon, he died at Magh-Muaidhe'. It was by
this Irial Faidh the following battles were fought : the battle of Cuil-marta ;
the battle of Ard-Inmaoithk, in Teathbha, in which fell Stirne, son of Dubh, son
of Fomhor ; the. battle of Tenmaighe1, in which fell Eocha Echcheann, king of
the Fomorians ; the battle of Lochmaighem, in which fell Lughroth, son of
Mofemis of the Firbolgs. It was in the time of the same Irial that the clearing
of the plains, the erection of the forts, and the eruption of the rivers following,
took place. These are the plains : Magh-Sele, in Ui-Neilln; Magh nEle°, in
Leinster ; Magh-Reicheatp; Magh-Sanaisq, in Connaught ; Magh-Techt, in Ui-

gave name to this place, is now called the Black- having been the residence of Finn Mac Cumhail

water. It rises in Lough Eamor, near Virginia, in the third century, and of Colonel Grace in

in the county of Cavan, and, flowing through the seventeenth — See note m, under A. D. 1475,

the barony of Upper Kells, by Tailten, in Meath, and note m, under A. D. 1418.

pays its tribute to the Boyne at Dubh-chomar, r Magh-Reicheat. — Keating adds that this plain

now the town of Navan. This river is dis- is in Laoighis, L e. Leix, in the present Queen's

tinctly mentioned as near Taltenia, in the Tri- County; but in the Preface to the Feilire-Aenguis

partite Life of St. Patrick, lib. ii. c. 4, apud it is mentioned as a plain in Ui-Failghe (Offaly),

Colgan, Trias Thaum, p. 129; and Colgan ob- containing the church of Cuil-Beannchair, now

serves, in a note, p. 173, that it was, in his own Coolbanagher, alias Whitechurch. It is now

time, called Abha-dhubh. called, in English, Morett, and is a manor in

0 Magh-n-Ele in Leinster — Now Moyelly, a the barony of Portnahinch, adjoining the Great

townland in the parish of Kilmanaghan, barony Heath of Maryborough, in the Queen's county,

of Kilcoursey, and King's County, famous as q Magh-Sanais. — Not identified.

F2

36

[3530.

hdipcfpa, TTla5h nOa,pbpfc , pocapcaib Oaipbpeac, TTla5h Lu5na i cCian-
nacca, TTlas nln,r la hUlcoib, TTlag Chuile Ff6a i pfpnmms, Hlaj comaip,
TTlaj TTlme, TTlaj Coba, TTlaj Cuma la hU,b Nell, TTlag pfpmhaije la
hOipjmllaib, -] TTlaj Rmcca. Qciao na pacha, Rach Cpoich i TTloi5,nir,
Rac Cumcfoha i Seriine, Rach bacain i Lacapna, Rach Lochaio i n^lap-
capn, Rach 5laipe cu,l5, Da n5oipreap Rac Ciombaoic mo GaTTiain, Rac
TTlochaish -] Rac 6uip5 i Slechcmoij. Na haibne, Siu>p, peil, 6pcpe la
murhain, na cpf pionna.-j na cpi Coimoe.

aoir Domain, cpi mile cuicc cfo rpiocac. Qn cfo bliaoain DO pije Gcpel,
mac Ipeoil pdm, 0? Gpinn inopin.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile cuicc cfo cfcpacac anaoi. Qn picfcmab bliaDain
DGrpel, mac Ipeoil pai6, mic Gpfmoin, i pi^e 50 ccopcaip la Conrhaol mac

* Magh-techt, in Ui-Mac- Uais. — Unknown.
Ui-Mac Mais is believed to be the barony of
Moygoish, in the county of Westmeath. — See
O'Flaherty's Ogygia, part iii. 76.

» Magh-Faithne, in Airthera. — Called IDa^
Poirm ip na h-iapcapaiB by Keating, which is
incorrect. Magh-Faithne is obsolete. Arthera is
the Irish name of the baronies of Orior, in the
county of Armagh.

' Magh-Dairbhreacli : i. e. the Plain of the
Oaks. This plain is situated at the foot of the
hill of Croghan, in the north of the King's
County. The territory of Fotharta Dairbh-
reach is referred to, in the old Irish authorities,
as adjoining this hill, which was anciently called
Bri-Eile. — See Ogygia, part iii. c. 64.

u Magh-Luglma. — Keating calls this Magh
Luinge. We are not told in which of the dis-
tricts called Cianachta it was situated.

w Magh-inis : i. e. the insular plain. This
was the ancient name of the barony of Lecale,
in the county of Down. — See Tripartite Life of
St. Patrick in Trias Thaum, part iii. c. 60, and
Colgan's note, p. 185 : "Magh-inis hodie Leth-
cathuil appellatur, in qua et ciuitas Dunensis
et Saballmn iacent."

'Magh- Cuile-feadha, in Fearnmhagh. — Fearnm-

hagh, i. e. the Alder Plain, is the Irish name of
the barony of Farney, in the county of Monaghan.
Magh-Cuile-feadha, i. e. the Plain of the Corner
or Angle of the Wood, was probably the ancient
name of the district around Loughfea, in this
barony.

J Magh-Comair: i. e. the Plain of the Con-
fluence. Keating places this in Ui-Neill, i. e.
in Meath. It is was probably the plain around
Cummer, near Clonard, in Meath. There is
another Magh-Comair, now anglice Muckamore,
near the town of Antrim, in the county of An-
trim.

* Magh-Midhe. — This is placed in Cianachta
by Keating.

a Magh- Cobha. — This is placed in Ui-Eathach,

i. e. Iveagh, in Ulster, by Keating See note u,

under A. D. 1252.

b Magh- Cuma, in Ui-Neill. — Unknown.
c Magh-Fearnmhaighe : now Farney, a barony
in the south of the county of Monaghan.

d Magh-Riada. — This was the ancient name
of a plain in Laoighis, or Leix, in the present
Queen's County, and contained the forts of
Lec-Reda and Eath-Bacain, where the chiefs of
Laoighis resided, and the church called Domh-
nach-mor. — See the Tripartite Life of St. Pa-

3530.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

37

Mac-Uaisr; Magh-Faithne, in Airtheara5; Magh-Dairbhreach', in Fotharla Dair-
bhreach ; Magh-Lughnau, in Cianachta ; Magh-inisw, in Uladh ; Magh-Cuile-
feadha, in Fearnmhagh*; Magh-Comairy ; Magh-Midhez ; Magh-Cobhaa; Magh-
Cuma, in Ui-Neillb ; Magh-Fearnmhaighec, in Oirghialla ; and Magh-Riadad.
These are the forts : Rath-Croich, in Magh-inise; Rath-Cuinceadha, in Seimhnef;
Rath-Bacain, in Latharna8 ; Rath-Lochaid, at Glascharnh ; Rath-glaisicuilg, which
is called Rath-Ciombaoith', at Eamhain ; Rath-Mothaigh* ; Rath-Buirg, in
Sleachtmhagh1. The rivers were the Siuirm, Feil", Ercre0, in Munster ; the three
Finns" ; and the three Coimdes".

The Age of the World, 3530. This was the first year of the reign of
Eithrial, son of Trial Faidh, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3549. The twentieth year of the reign of'Eithrial,
son of Irial Faidh, son of Eremon, when he fell by Conmhael, son of Emer, in

trick in Trias Tfiaum., p. 155.

' Rath-Croich, in Magh-inis : i. e. in the ba-
rony of Locale, in the county of Down. Not
identified.

' Rath- Cuincheadka in Seimhne — Island-Magee,
in the county of Antrim, was anciently called
Rinn-Seimhne, and this fort was probably on it,
but the name is obsolete.

1 Rath-bacain, in'Latharna: i. e. in Larne,
a territory, in the county of Antrim, now in-
cluded in the barony of Upper Glenarm. The
name of this fort is obsolete.

6 Rath-Lochaid, at Glascharn — Both names
unknown.

' Rath-Cimbaoith — This was the name of one
of the forts at Emania, or the Navan, near Ar-
magh. There was another fort of the name in
the plain of Seimhne, near Island-Magee, in the
present county of Antrim.

k Rath-Mothaigh. — Now Raith-Mothaigh, an-
glice Ryemoghy, in a parish of the same name,
in the barony of Raphoe and county of Donegal ;
and there can be little doubt that Sleachtmhagh
was the name of a plain in this parish.

1 Rath-Buirg, in Sleachtmhagh — Called Ratli-

Buirech by Keating. Not identified.

m The £«<!>.— Now anglice " The Suir," which
rises in Sliabh Aldiuin, or the Devil's Bit Moun-
tain, in the barony of Ikerrin, and county of
Tipperary, and, flowing by or through Thurles,
Holycross, Golden Bridge, and Cahir, Ardfinan,
and Carrick-on-Suir, and Waterford, finally
unites with the Barrow, at Comar-na na dtri n-
Uisceadh, about a mile below Waterford.

n Feil. — There is a river of this name in the
county of Kerry, giving name to the village
of Abbeyfeale, by which it passes ; but it is
quite evident, from the Leabhar-Gabhala of the
O'Clerys, that the river Corrane, which Hows
from Loch Luighdheach, alias Corrane Lough,
in the barony of Iveragh, in the west of the same
county, was also originally called " Abhainn-
Feile," and that is the river here alluded to.

0 Ercre. — Now unknown.

v The three Finns. — The River Finn, flowing
through the barony of Raphoe, in the county of
Donegal, was the principal one of these. The
other two were probably tributary streams
to it.

* The three Coimdes. — Not identified.

38

Rioghachca eiReawN. [3550.

Gmip i ccac ttaipfno. Ip i jiemfp an Gcpeoil pi po plechcaicc na maijhe pi,
Ueanma5h la Connachroib, TTlajh LujaD la Lui£ne, TTlajh mbealais la
MM cCuipcpe, TTlasSeipille la hUib bpailje, TTlash Ochcaip la Laijniu,
Locmagh la Conaille, -| TTlaj T?oc la hUib Gachoach.

Qoip Domain, cpf mile cuig cfo caoja. Qn ceo bliabain Do pije Conrhaoil,
mac Girinp, op Gpinn innpm. Ceo 17i Gpeann a TTlurhoin epiDe.

Qoip Domain, cpf mfle 0(115 cet) peacrmojac anaoi. lap mbeic Oech
mbliaDna picfc DoConmaol, macGmip, i pije nGpeann copcaip i ccacQonaij
TTlacha la Cijfpnmup mac pollaijh. Conmaol rpa ap laip DO cuipfb na
caca po, cac ^eipille, i ccopcaip palap mac Gpearhom, car beppe, car
Slebe 6fta la hUib Cpemrainn, car Ucha, cacCnucha, cac Slebe TTloDaipn
i ccopcaip Sempoch mac Inboich, each Clepe, cac Capn moip i ccopcaip
Ollac, cac Cocha Lfin popGapna, TTlaipcine,-] popTTlob Ruic, mac TTlopebip,
opfpoib bolj, cac Gle.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile cuij cfo occmo£ac. Qn ceo bliaDain Do pije
Uijfpnmaip mic pollai^ op Gpinn.

CCoip Domain, cpf mfle cfo occmojac a haon. Qn oapa blia&ain Do pije
Uijfpnmaip, comaibm na naoi loch po. Loch nUaip i TTlibe, Loch nlaipn,

', Raeire. — Genit. Raeireann. O'Flaherty says y Lochmhagh, in Conaille Keating places this

that this is the name of a hill in Hyfalgia, but in Connaught.

does not tell us its exact situation. It is the * Magh-roth. — Called by Keating Magh-rath.

place now called Raeipe mop, in the territory This was the name of a plain in the present

of Iregan, or barony of Tinnahinch, in the county of Down, the position of which is deter-

Queen's County, which was a part of the ancient mined by the village of Moira.

Ui-Failghe, or Offaly. There is another place a Aenach-Macha This was another name for

of the name in the territory of Ui-Muireadhaigh, Emania, or the Navan fort, near Armagh. Keat-

near Athy, in the county of Kildare. ing says that Conmael was buried at the south

' Teanmhagh. — Unknown. side of Aenach-Macha, at a place then called

' Magh-Lughadh.— Unknown. Feart Conmhaoil.— See Halliday's edit., p. 320.

u Magh-bealaiffh, in Ui-Tuirtre : i. e. plain of b Geisill — Now Geshil, in the King's County,
the road or pass. Ui-Tuirtre was the name of c Berra. — This is probably Bearhaven, in the

a tribe and territory in the present county of south-west of the county of Cork.
Antrim, but the name of the plain is unknown. d Sliabh-Beatha.— There is no Sliabh Beatha

"Magh-Oemlle: i. e. the plain of GeshilL This in Ireland but that on the borders of the coun-
was the ancient name of a plain included in the ties of Fermanagh and Monaghan, already men-
present barony of Geshill, in the King's County, tioned, note f, under A. M. 2242.

1 Afagh-Ochtair, in Leinster.— Unknown. « Ucha.— Not identified.

3550.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

39

the battle of Kaeirer. It was in the reign of this Eithrial that these plains were
cleared : Teanmagh8, in Connaught ; Magh Lughadh', in Luighne ; Magh-Bea-
laigh, in Ui-Tuirtreu ; Magh-Geisillew, in Ui-Failghe ; Magh-ochtair, in Leinster1 ;
Lochtnhagh, in Conailley; Magh-rothz, in Ui-Eathach.

The Age of the World, 3550. This was the first year of the reign of
Conmael, son of Eraer, over Ireland. He was the first king of Ireland from
Munster.

The Age of the World, 3579. Conmael, son of Emer, having been thirty
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell, in the battle of Aenach-Macha", by
Tighernmus, son of Follach. By Conmael had been fought these battles : the
battle of Geisill", in which fell Palap, son of Eremon ; the battle of Berra0; the
battle of Sliabh Beatha", in Ui Creamhthainn ; the battle of Uchae; the battle
of Cnuchaf ; the battle of Sliabh Modhairn*, in which fell Semroth, son of
Inboith ; the battle of Clere"; the battle of Carnmor'1, in which fell Ollach ;
the battle of Loch Lein", against the Ernai1 and Martinei™, and against Mogh
Ruith, son of Mofebis of the Firbolgs ; the battle of Elen.

The Age of the World, 3580. The first year of the reign of Tighernmas,
son of Folloch, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3581. The second year of the reign of Tighern-
mas, the eruption of these nine lakes [occurred] : Loch Uair°, in Meath ; Loch

f Cnucha. — This place is described as over the
River Liffey, in Leinster. — See Keating in the
reign of Lughaidh Mac Con, and the Battle of
Cnucha. It was probably the ancient name of
Castleknock.

1 Sliabh- Modhairn. — This was the ancient
name of a range of heights near Ballybay, in
the barony of Cremorne, and county of Mo-
naghan. The Mourne mountains, in the south
of the county of Down, were originally called
Beanna Boirche, and had not received their pre-
sent name before the fourteenth century.

" Clere — Not identified. It may be Cape Clear,
Co. Cork, or Clare Island, county Mayo.

' Carn-mor. — This was probably Carn-mor
Sleibhe Beatha, for the situation of which see
note ', A. M. 2242, p. 3, supra.

k Loch-Lein — The lakes at Killarney were
originally so called. The name is now applied
to the upper lake only.

1 Ernai, — A sept of the Firbolgs, seated in the
present county of Kerry.

m Martinet. — A sept of the Firbolgs anciently
seated in the baronies of Coshlea and Small
County, in the county of Limerick, and in that

of Clanwilliam, in the county of Tipperary

See Book of Lismore, fol. 176, a. a. where Emly
is referred to as in the very centre of this terri-
tory.

n Ele. — A territory in the south of the King's
County.

0 Loch Uair. — These lakes are set down iu a
very irregular order by1 the Four Masters.
Keating and O'Flaherty have given their names

aNwata Rioshacnca eiueaNN.

[3656.

Loch Ce , Connachcmb, Loch Sadeano, Loch nQ.llfno , cConnacca*, Loch
pealiail, Loch ^aBaip, Oubloch 1 Loch Daball , lOippallaib.

dor ooma,; cp, mil* T* cfo eaoccac a re. dr f an blmbam p an
reaccma6 blmbau, oecc ap cp* Ffchc,b t>o U,5fPnmar na pi* or Spurn.
Or la,r po bpireab na caca fo pop fiol nBmh.p n Fop apaill oepfnncoib 1
Jacca"pcenela,b o,le cen mo cacrom. Qc.ao fo na caca hi^n, each Glle
, eopcaip Rocopb, mac5oUa,n, each Locmu,5e 1 ccapchaiT . Oa5a,pr* mac
Rt»U micSollam, each Cula a,pD , mui^r, each Chuile Rpaochain, carh
Hla^e Cechr, each Commaip, each Cula ach5uipc , Semne, each Q.po
N,aDh hi cConnachcaiB, car Caipn F^«6oij , copch01p F^paoac mac Ro-
chmpb, mic ^ollain, 6 pdicfp Capn pfpa6ai5, each Cnameoille hi Connach
ca!b each Cuile Fea6a, each Reabh, each Con5nai6e , Uuaic Gaba, each
Cluana Cuar, i Ueachba, each Cluana TTlu.prcce, i mbpepne, Da each
Chuile i ndp5ac Rop, each Gle, cac beppe, Seachc ccaca a5 Loch Luj-

in better succession. The Four Masters should
have transcribed them in the following order :
LochUair, Lochn-Iairn, Loch Saighleann, Loch
Gabhair, and Dubh-loch, in Meath ; Loch Ce
and Loch Ailleann, in Connaught ; and Loch
Feabhail and Loch Dabhall, in Ulster. Loch
Uair is now corruptly called in Irish Loch Uail,
anglice Lough Owel, and is situated near Mul-
lingar, in the county of Westmeath.

p Loch n-Iairn. — Now Lough Iron, situated on
the western boundary of the barony of Corkaree,
in the county of Westmeath.

9 Loch Ce in Connaught. — Now Lough Key,
near Boyle, in the county of Eoscommon.

' Loch Saileann — Now Loch Sheelin, on the
borders of the counties of Cavan, Longford, and
Meath.

s Loch n- Ailleann. — Now Lough Allen, in the
county of Leitrim ; by some considered the true
source of the Shannon.

' Loch Feabhail. — Now Lough Foyle, an arm
of the sea between the counties of Londonderry
and Donegal. It is stated in the Dinnseanchus
and by Keating, that this lough took its name

from Febhal, son of Lodan, one of the Tuatha-
De-Dananns.

u Loch- Gabhair. — This lough is now dried up,
but the place is still called Loch Gobhar, anglice

Lagore&r Logore See Colgan's.4cta Sanctorum,

p. 422, n. 14, and Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy, vol. i. p. 424.

" Dubh-loch: the Black Lough. Keating places
this lough in the territory of Ard-Cianachta, now
the barony of Ferrard, in the county of Louth.
* Loch- Dabhall, in Oirghialla. — This was the
ancient name of a lake not far from the town of
Armagh, but the name is obsolete. — See note w,
on Cluain-Dabhail, under the year 1514.

'Elle — Otherwise Elne or Magh Elne, was the
name of a district lying between the rivers Bann
and Bush, in the present county of Antrim.

" Lochmagh: i. e. Plain of the Lake; the situa-
tion of this lake is uncertain.

"•Cul-ard, in Magh-inis — In the barony of Le-
cale, county of Down.

b Cuil-Fraechain: i. e. the Corner or Angle of
the Bilberries ; not identified.
c Magh-Teacht.—See A. M.

3656.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

41

n-Iairnp; Loch Ceq, in Connaught; Loch Saileannr; Loch n-Ailleanns, in Con-
naught ; Loch Feabhail'; Loch Gabhair"; Dubhloch"; and Loch DabhalF, in
Oirghialla.

The Age of the World, 3656. This was the seventeenth year above three
score of Tighearnmas, as king over Ireland. It was by him the following bat-
tles were gained over the race of Emhear, and others of the Irish, and foreigners
besides. These were the battles : the battle of Elley, in which fell Rochorb,
son of Gollan ; the battle of Lochmaghz, in which fell Dagairne, son of Goll, son
of Gollan ; the battle of Cul-ard1, in Magh-inis ; the battle of Cuil Fraechanb;
the battle of Magh-techtc; the battle of Commard; the battle of Cul-Athguirte,
in Seirnhne ; the battle of Ard-Niadhf, in Connaught ; the battle of Carn-
FearadhaighE, in which fell Fearadha_ch, son of Rochorb, son of Gollan, from
whom Carn-Fearadhaigh is called ; the battle of Cnamh-choillh, in Connaught;
the battle of Cuil-Feadha1 ; the battle ofReabh"; the battle of Congnaidhe, in
Tuath-Eabha1 ; the battle of Cluain-Cuasm, in Teathbha ; the battle of Cluain-
Muirsge", in Breifne ; the two battles of Cuil0, in Argat-Ross ; the battle of Elep ;
the battle of Berraq; seven battles at Loch Lughdhachr; two other battles at

d Commar — Not identified. There are count-
less places of the name in Ireland.

' Cul-Athguirt, in Seimhne. — This was some-
where near Island Magee, but the name is now
obsolete.

' Ard-Niadh : i. e. Hill of the Hero ; not
identified.

* Carn-Feradhaigh: i. e. Fearadhach's Cam or
Sepulchral Heap. This is referred to in the
Book of Lecan, fol. 204, as on the southern
boundary of the territory of Cliu-Mail. It was
probably the ancient name of Seefin, in the ba-
rony of Coshlea, in the south of the county of
Limerick.

" Cnamh-choill : i. e. Wood of the Bones. This
was probably the ancient name of a wood in the
district of Cuil-Cnamha, in the east of the barony
of Tireragh, and county of Sligo. There were
two other places of this name in Munster.

1 Cuil-feadha : i. e. Corner or Angle of the
Wood. St. Columbkille fought a battle at a

place of this name, but it has not been identi-
fied by any of our writers.

k Beabh. — Unknown.

• Congnaidh, in Tuath-Eabha — Tuath-Eabha
is now called Machaire-Eabha, and is situated
at the foot of Binbulbin, in the barony of Car-
bery, and county of Sligo.

10 Cluan-cuas: i. e. the Plain of the Caves, now
Cloncoose, in the barony of Granard, county of
Longford. — See Inquisitions, Lagenia, Longford,
i. Jac. I.

n Cluain-Muirsge. — Not identified.

°Cuil, in Argat-Ross. — Now Coole, in the pa-
rish of Bathbeagh, on the Nore, county Kilkenny.

p Eile — Not identified. There are several
places of the name in Ireland.

q Bern. — Probably Beare, in the county of
Cork.

' Loch Lughdach — Now Loch Luigheach, or
Corrane lough, in the barony of Iveragh, and
county of Kerry.

42 dNNCita Rioshachca eiReanR [3657

bach, Da car oil) i nQpjao Rop, cpi cacha pop piopa bolg, cac Cuile pobaip
pop Gpna.

Op la Uijfpnmup tieop po bfpbab op ap cup i nGpmn, i poicpib Qipchip
Lippe. Uchaoan cfpo opfpoib Cualann pooup bfpb Qp laip po curhoaijic
cuipn -] bpfcnappa t>op -| Oap^ac in nGpmn ap cup. dp laip cugab puamnab
pop eooishib, copcaip, jopm, i uaine. Qp na pfimiup cobpuchcab cfopa
noub aibnfoli Gpeann, pubna, Uopann,-] Callann, a nanmanna. Qbpoipcfno
na bliabna poacbailpiorh-, 50 cfopaib cfrpamnaib pfp nGpeann ime, i mopbail
TTlaije Slechc, ipm mbpfipne, 05 abpab DoCpom Cpoach, aipoiobal abapcha
Gpfnn eipibe, oioche hSariina Do hponpab innpin. C(p Do na pleaccanaib DO
ponpac pip Gpionn im Uijfpnniap hipuibe po haimnmjeab an majh.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile pe cfo caojacc a peachc. Qn cCo bliabain
oGpino ^an pij lap cCijfpnmap innpin.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile pe cfo pfpccac a cpi. Qn peachcmab bliabain
inopin. 6aoi 6pe jan pfj ppi pe na pfchc mbliaban pin.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile pe cfo peapccac a cfraip. Qn ceao bliabain
oGochaib Guojabach na pij 6p Gpinn inopin. Qp aipe acbfpap Gochaib
Guojabach ppip ap ap laipcuccab ilbpfchcpab jaca oaca i neoijib ap cup

s Cuil-Fobhair — This was the name of a place make gold and silver pinns to put in men's and

iu the district of Muintir-Fathaigh, otherwise women's garments about their necks; and also

called Dealbhna-Cuile-Fabhair, on the east side he was the first that ever found" [i. e. invented]

of Lough Corrib, in the county of Galway. " the dyeing of" [parti-] " coloured clothes in

' Foithre-Airthir-Liffe. — Keating calls the Ireland." Keating says that Tighearnmas was

place Fotharta-Oirer Life, but the true reading the first Irish king who established the custom

is Fotharta-Airthir-Life, i. e. the Territory of of distinguishing the rank of his subjects by

Fotharta, to the east of the River Life. For different colours in their dress, as one colour

the situation of the seven Fothartas, see Ogygia, in the garment of a slave, two colours in the

part iii. c. 64, and Duald Mac Firbis's genealogi- garment of a peasant, three in that of a soldier,

cal work (Marquis of Drogheda's copy, p. 139). four in that of a brughaidh or public victual-

u Feara- Cualann.— See A. M. 3501. ler, five in that of the chieftain of a territory,

* Goblets and brooches.— In Mageoghegan's and six in that of the ollav (chief professor)

translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, the and in those of kings and Queens. Nearly the

following notices are given under the reign of same account is given in the Book of Leean, fol.

Tighernmas: " He was the first who caused 290, a, a; and in H. 2. 18, Trin. Coll. Dub.;

standing cuppes to be made, the refining of which latter manuscript adds that all these

gould and silver, and procured his Goldsmith colours were then used in the bishop's dress,

(named Ugden), that dwelt near the Liffie, to The Four Masters ascribe the establishment of

3657-] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 43

Argat-Ross ; three battles against the Firbolgs ; the battle of Cuil-Fobhair!,
against the Ernai.

It was by Tighearnmas also that gold was first smelted in Ireland, in
Foithre-Airthir-Lifie'. [It was] Uchadan, an artificer of the Feara-Cualann",
that smelted it. It was by him that goblets and brooches" were first covered
with gold and silver in Ireland. It was by him that clothes were dyed
purple, blue, and green. It was in his reign the three black rivers of Ireland
burst forth, Fubhnax, Toranny, and Callann2, their names. At the end of this
year he died, with the three-fourths of the men of Ireland about him, at the
meeting of Magh-Slecht", in Breifne, at the worshipping of Crom Cruach, which
was the chief idol of adoration in Ireland. This happened on the night of
Samhainb precisely. It was from the genuflections0 which the men of Ireland
made about Tighearnmas here that the plain was named.

The Age of the World, 3657. This was the first year of Ireland without
a king, after [the death of] Tighearnmas.

The Age of the World, 3663. This was the seventh year. Ireland was
without a king during the period of these seven years.

The Age of the World, 3664. This was the first year of Eochaidh Ead-
ghadhach, as king over Ireland. He was called Eochaidh Eadghadhach because
it was by him the variety of colour was first put on clothes in Ireland, to dis-

these colours to Eochaidh Eadghadhach. stood near a river called Gathard, and St. Pa-

1 Fubhna, now most probably the Una1 River, trick erected a church called Domhnachmor,

in Tyrone — See A. D. 1516. in the immediate vicinity of the place. — See

7 Torann. — Unknown. There is a Touro River Vita Tripart., lib. ii. c. 31. According to the

near Youghal. Dinnsenchus, this was the principal idol of all

1 Callann Now the River Gallon, in the the colonies that settled in Ireland from the

county of Armagh. earliest period to the time of St. Patrick, and

* Magh-Sleacht. — This is translated campus they were wont to offer to it the firstlings of

excidii by Dr. O'Conor, but more correctly, animals, and other offerings — See Rerun Hiber-

campus adorationis, by Colgan. — Trias Thaum., nicarum Scriptores, Prolegomena, part i. p. 22.

p. 133. This was the name of a plain in the b Night of Samhain The eve of All- Hallows

barony of Tullyhaw and county of Cavan. The is so called by the Irish at the present day. It

village of Baile Meg-Shamhradhain, now Bally- is compounded of fam, summer, and pum,

magauran, and the island of Port, are men- end.

tioned as situated in this plain. — See note on c Genuflections. — Dr. O'Conor translates this

Baile-Mheg-Shamhradhain, under A. D. 1431. " propter excidium quod passi sunt viri Hiber-

Crom Cruach, the chief idol of the Pagan Irish, nise ;" but this is evidently erroneous.

G2

44 CINNCKXI Rio^hachca emeawN. [3667.

i nGpinn, DeiDipOeliujab onopa gac aoin ap a foach, oca fpeal 50 huapal.
Op amlaib Din po Debg fccoppa, aenDac i nfooijib mogab, aoo i nfooijib
amopp, a cpi i neooijhib oajlaoch ~\ oiscijfpnab, a cearaip i nfooijib bpujab,
a cuig i nfooijib cijeapnab cuach, a pe i neooijib ollarhan, a pfchc i neDoijib

pioj 1 pfojhan.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile pe cfo pfpccac a peachc. Qn cfcpamab bliabam
DGochaib. hi bpoipcfno an cfcpamab bliabain Dia pije DO pocaip la Cfpmna
mac Gbpic i ccach Uearhpa.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile pe cfo peapccac a hochc. Ctn cfo bliabain Do
Sobaipce i DO Cfpmna pionD, Da mac Gbpic, mic 6mip, mic Ip, mic TTlileab,
op Gpinn, i po pannpac.eacoppa i ap Do, Sobaipce ruaich i nOun Sobaipce,
-j Cfpmna reap i nOun Cfpmna. Oa ceopi'j Gpeann Do Sliocc Ip laopiDe.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile peachc ccfo a peachc. Ctp mbfin cfcpachac
blia&ain DO na piojhaib pi a ccomplaiciup op Gpinn, Do cheap Sobaipce la
liGochaib TTleanD opomoipib, -\ Do pochaip Cfpmna la hGochaib bpaobap-
glap mac Conmaoil. ,

Qoip Domain, cpi mile peachc cceD a hochc. Qn ceo bliabam oGochaib
paobapglap, mac Conmail, mic Gmip, op Gpinn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile peachc cceo piche a peace, lap mbfic imoppo
DGochaiD piche bliabam i pije Gpeann copchaip la piacha Cabpainne i
ccach Capmain i noiojoil a achap. QciaD anopo na caca po cuipiD ~\ na
maije po pleaccaio la hGochaiD ppaobapglap. Cach Luacpa OeabaD,
each popaiD Da gopc, each Comaip cpi nuipcce, each Uuama Opeacon i
nUib bpium bpeippne, each Opoma Liacan. Qciacc na maije, TTlajh Smf-

d Dun-Sobhairce. — Now Dunseverick, near the Kingsborough's Sale Catalogue, where the fol-

Giants' Causeway, in the north of the county of lowing notice of this place occurs :
Antrim — See A. M. 3501. "Places of note in this barony" [i. e. Gourde's]

' Dun-Cearmna: i. e. Cearmna's Dun, or Fort, "are, 1. Kingrone; 2. Castle-ni-park and Rin-

Keating (Holiday's edition, p. 125) says that corran, &c.; 3. The Old Head of Kinsale, a

this was called Dun-Mhic-Padruig, in his own noted promontory anciently called Dun-Cermna,

time. It was the name of an old fort situated or Down-Cermna, from Cearmna, King of half

on the Old Head of Kinsale, a famous promon- Ireland, who, upon the division of the kingdome

tory in the south of the county of Cork — See between him and Sovarcy, came hither and

O'Brien's Irish Dictionary, in voce Dun-Cearmna ; built his royal seat, and called it after his own

and Carbria Notitia, a manuscript, written in name. Of later years it was called Down mc

1686, which formed No. 591 of the late Lord Patrick."

3667-3 ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 45

tinguish the honour of each by his raiment, from the lowest to the highest. Thus
was the distinction made between them : one colour in the clothes of slaves ;
two in the clothes of soldiers ; three in the clothes of goodly heroes, or young
lords of territories ; six in the clothes of ollavs ; seven in the clothes of kings
and queens.

The Age of the World, 3667. The fourth year of Eochaidh. At the end
of the fourth year of his reign, he fell by Cearmna, son of Ebric, in the battle
of Teamhair [Tara].

The Age of the World, 3668. The first year of [the joint reign of] So-
bhairce and Cearmna Finn, the two sons of Ebric, son of Emher, son of Ir, son
of Milidh, over Ireland ; and they divided it between them into two parts :
Sobhairce [resided] in the north, atDun-Sobhairced; and Cearmna in the south,
at Dun-Cearmnae. These were the first kings of Ireland of the race of Ir.

The Age of the World, 3707. After these kings had been forty years in
the joint sovereignty of Ireland, Sobhairce was slain by Eochaidh Meann, of
the Fomorians ; and Cearmna fell by Eochaidh Faebharghlas, son of Conmael.

The Age of the World, 3708. The first year of Eochaidh Faebhar-ghlas,
son of Conmael, son of Emhear, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3727. After Eochaidh had been twenty years in the
sovereignty of Ireland, he was slain by FiachaLabhrainne, in the battle of Carman
[Wexford],in revenge of his father. These were the battles that were fought, and
the plains that were cleared, by Eochaidh Faebharghlas : the battle of Luachair-
Deadhadl/ ; the battle of Fosadh-da-ghortg ; the battle of Comar-tri-nUisge11 ; the
battle of Tuaim-Drecon', in Ui-Briuin-Breifne ; the battle of Druim-Liathain".
These are the plains : Magh-Smeathrach1, in Ui-Failghe ; Magh-n-Aidhnem,

' Luachair-Deadhadh — Now Sliabh-Luachra, on the borders of the counties of Cavan and

anglice Slieve Loughra, near Castleisland, in the Fermanagh,

county of Kerry. k Druim-Liaihain This is probably intended

1 Fosadh-da-ghort — The Habitation of the for Druim-leathan, now Drumlahan, or Drum-
two Fields. Not identified. lane, in the county of Cavan.

» Comar-tri-nUisge: i. e. the Meeting of the ' Magh-Smeathrach — Not identified.

Three Waters, i. e. of the rivers Suir, Nore, and m Magh-n-Aidhne A level district . in the

Barrow, near Waterford. present county of Galway, all comprised in the

1 Tuaim-Drecon: i. e. the mount or tumulus diocese of Kilmacduagh. Keating reads Magh-

of Brecon, now Toomregan, near Ballyconnell, Laighne.

46 aNNdta Rioshachca eiReaNR [3728.

epoch la hUib ppailje, ™a5 "Cbone, TTlaj Luipg i Connachraib, TTla5h
Leamna, TTla5h nlmp, Tlla5h pubna, -] TTla5h Da 5abop la hdipjmllaib.

Uoip Domain, cpi mile pfchc ccfo piche a hochc. Qn ceo bliaDam DO
pije piachac tabpainne op Gpmn inopin.

doip Domain, cpi mile peachc cceo caoccac a haon. Qn cfrparhab
bliaoam picic po poipcfno pije piachac Labpainne, -] Do cfp la hGochaib
mumo Don TTlumom i ccac bealgaDain. dp lap an bpiacha tabpainne pi
po bpipeaD na cara po. Cach ^aclaije i ccopcaip TTlopebip mac 6ac-
Dach paobapjlaip, each paippje pop cloinn Grhip, each Slebe pfimin, each
ppf hGpnoib opfpoib bolj an bail i puil Loch Gpne. lap meabpain an caca
poppa ap ann po meab'aiD an loch caippib, conao uaca ainmnijcep an loch
.1. loch cap Gpnaib. dp a pfimiupan piachacfona cobpuchcab na cceopa
naibneaD, pleapc, ITlano, -| Labpano, Dia po 111 an popainm paippium.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile pfcc cceo caosac a Do. Qn ceo bliaDam DO pfje
Gachoac TTlumo, mac TTlopebip, op Gpinn inDpin.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile peachc cceD peachcmojac a DO. bliaDam ap
pichic DGochaiD i pije nGpeann, co ccopcaip la hGonjup Olmucaba i ccac
Cliach.

n Magh-Luirg. — Now the plains of Boyle, in in Tyrone flows.

the county of Koscommon. ' Magh-da-ghabhar : i. e. the Plain of the Two

"Magh-Leamhna. — This plain was well known, Goats. Keating calls it Magh-da-ghabhal, i- e.

and otherwise called Closach, in the time of " the Plain of the Two Forks," which is pro-

Colgan, who describes it as " Eegio campestris bably the correct form. — See Magh-da-ghabhal

Tironiae Diocesis Clocharensis vulgo Mag-Lemna under the year 1011.

aliis Clossach dicta." It is shewn on an old s Bealgadan. — Now Bulgadan, a townland in

Map of Ulster, preserved in the State Papers' the parish of Kilbreedy Major, near Kilmallock,

Office, London, as " the Countrie of Cormac in the county of Limerick.

Mac Barone" [O'Neill]. The fort of Augher ' Gathlach. — Now probably Gayly, in the ba-

and the village of Ballygawley are represented rony of Iraghticonor, county of Kerry.

as in this district, the town of Clogher being u Fairrge Not identified.

on its western, and the church of Errigal-Kee- w Sliabh Feimhin: i. e. the mountain of Feim-

roge on its northern boundary, and the River hin, a territory comprised in the barony of Iffa

Blackwater flowing through it. and Offa East, in the county of Tipperary. This

' Magh-n-Inir. — Called by Keating Magh- mountain is now locally called SliaB na m-ban

Nionair. Now unknown. pionn, i. e. the Mountain of the Fair Women,

' Magh-Fubhna: i. e. the plain of the River which is evidently a corruption of SUab na m-

Fubhna. This was probably the ancient name ban Peirheann, i. e. the Mountain of the Women

of the district through which the River Oona of Feimhin See Leabharnag-Ceart, p. 18. Ac-

3728.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 4?

Magh-Luirg", in Connaught ; Magh-Leamhna0, Magh-n-Inirp, Magh-Fubhnaq,
and Magh-da-ghabharr, in Oirghialla.

The Age of the World, 3728. This was the first year of the reign of
Fiacha Labhrainne over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3751. This was the twenty-fourth year, the ter-
mination of the reign of Fiacha Labhrainne ; and he fell by Eochaidh Mumho,
of Munster, in the battle of Bealgadan'. It was by this Fiacha Labhrainne the
following battles were gained : the battle of Gathlach', in which fell Mofebis,
son of Eochaidh Faebharghlas; the battle of Fairrge", against the race of Emhear;
the battle of Sliabh Feimhin"; a battle against the Ernai, [a sept] of the Firbolgs,
[on the plain] where Loch Erne" [now] is. After the battle was gained from
them, the lake flowed over them, so that it was from them the lake is named,
that is, " a lake over the Ernai." It was in the reign of the same Fiacha that
the springing of these three rivers first took place, [namely], the Fleasc1, the
Mandz, and the Labhrann", from which [last] the surname [Labhrainne] clung
to him.

The Age of the World, 3752. This was the first year of the feign of
Eochaidh Mumho, son of Mofebis, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3772. Twenty-one years was Eochaidh in the
sovereignty of Ireland, when he fell by Aengus Olmucadha, son of Fiacha Labh-
rainne, in the battle of Cliachb.

cording to a local legend, the women of this * The Labhrann. — The genitive form is 6a-

mountain were enchanted beauties, who were bpainne or 6aBpmnne. Keating, in his History

contemporary with Finn Mac Cumhaill, the of Ireland, calls this InBeap tuBpuinne, which

chief of the Irish militia in the third century. 'Haliday (p. 325) anglicises "theLarne;" but

1 Loch-Erne: i. e. Lough Erne, in the county this is incorrect, because the Lame (in the

Fermanagh. The same account of the eruption county of Antrim) is called, in Irish, Latharna.

of this lake is given in the Leabhar-Gabhala, and We have no direct evidence to prove the situa-

by Duald Mac Firbis (Marquis of Drogheda's tion or modern name of the Labhrann. The

copy, p. 9.) Eiver Lee, in the county of Cork, was originally

* The Fleasc. — Now the Flesk, a river flowing called Sabhrann. But the Eiver Labhrann was

through the barony of Magunihy, in the south- evidently in the same region with the Flesk and

east of the county of Kerry. the Mang, and it may not be rash to conjecture

' The Mand, recte Mang — Now the Maine, a that it was the old name of the Casan-Ciarraighe,
river flowing through the barony of Troughan- or Cashen River, in the county of Kerry,
acmy, in the west of the same county. Keating " Cliach.—A territory lying around Knock-
calls it InBeap mum5e. any, in the county of Limerick.

48

emeciNN.

[3773.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile rfchc cceD j-fccmojac a cpi. Qn ceo bliabam
DO pije Qonjupa Olmucaba, mac PIOCO Latipamne, op Gpinn inpinn.

Chip Domain, cpi mile peachc ceo nocac. lap mbfic Ddengup Olmu-
caba ochc mbliabna Decc inn aipopije Gpeann Do cfp i ccach Capman la
hGnna nQipgreach. Qpe Qengup po bpip na caca po, each Clepe, each
Cuipce, cat Slebe Cuil^e pop TTlhaipcme i ccpich Copca baipccinn, each
Ruip Ppaocam i TTluipipcc i copchaip ppaochan pdib, each Caipn TCicfba,
each Guile T?aca i nOeapmurham, each SleBe Cua pop Gpna, each dipoa-
chaib i copcaip Smiopjoll mac Smeachpa, pi pomoipe, caoja cac pop Cpuic-
fncuaici pop piopa bolg, Da each Dec pop LonjbapDaib, -| cficpe caca pop
Colaipc. Qciac na locha po comaibmpeac ina pe, Coch aonbfichi la hUib
Cperhcuinn, Loch Saileac, Loch na ngapan i TTlaij Luipg la Connachcaib, -|
TTlupbpuchc eioip Gaba i l?op Cecce. Qp la hQonjup Ona po pleachcaD
na maije yo, TTlaj 5^lnne t)ecori ^a Cenel Conaill, TTlash TTlucpuime la

c Aengus Olmucadha: i. e. Aengus of the large
Swine — See Ogygia, part iii. c. 27. In Mageo-
ghegan's translation of the Annals of Clonmac-
noise, the name of this king is anglicised " Enos
Olmoye," and in Irish, in the margin, Qohjup
OUmujaio, i.e. Aengus the great Destroyer.

d Carmann — Now Wexford. See A. M. 3727.

e Clere.— See A. M. 3579.

f Cuirce — Not identified. See it again men-
tioned under A. M. 4981.

s Sliabh- Cailge — There is no mountain in the
territory of Corca-Bhaiscinn now bearing this
name. It appears from the Life of St. Senanus,
the territory of Corca-Bhaiscinn originally com-
prised the barony of Ibrickan, as well as those
of Moyarta and Clonderalaw, and it may, there-
fore, be well conjectured that Sliabh Cailge was
the ancient name of Sliabh-Callain, in the ba-
rony of Ibrickan. The only other elevation that
could with propriety be called a mountain is
Moveen, in the barony of Moyarta.

h Eos-Fraechan — Rosreaghan, in the barony
of Murresk, and county of Mayo.

' Carn-Riceadha — Not identified.

1 Cuil-Ratha: i. e. Corner, or Angle of the
Fort

I Sliabh Cua. — Now SliabhGua, anglice Slieve
Gua, in the parish of Sheskinan, barony of
Decies-without-Drum, and county of Waterford.
The more elevated part of this mountain is now
called Cnoc Maeldomhnaigh ; but the whole
range was originally called Sliabh Cua.

m Ard-Achadh — There are many places of
this name in Ireland, now anglicised Ardagh,
but that here referred to is probably Ardagh,
in the county of Longford.

II Cruithean-Tuath : i. e. the nation or country
of the Picts.

0 Longobardai : i. e. the Longobardi, or Lom-
bards. This name was scarcely known to the
Irish at the period we are treating of. They
are mentioned by Tacitus and by Suetonius in
the first century, and by Prosper in the fourth,
and from these, no doubt, the Irish writers first
became acquainted with the name. It would
appear from the lives of St. Patrick, that one of
his nephews was of this tribe.

p Colaisti.— Not identified. These foreign

3773.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

49

The Age of the World, 3773. This was the first year of the reign of
Aengus Olmucadhac over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3790. After Aengus Olmucadha had been eigh-
teen years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he fell in the battle of Carmannd, by
Enna Airgtheach. It was Aengus that gained the following battles. The
battle of Clere6; the battle of Cuircef ; the battle of Sliabh-Cailgeg, against the
Martini, in the territory of Corca-Bhaiscinn ; the battle of Ros-Fraechan", in
Muirisc, in which fell Fraechan, the prophet ; the battle of Carn-Rieeadha' ; the
battle of Cuil-rathak, in South Munster ; the battle of Sliabh Cua1, against the
Ernai ; the battle of Ard-achadhm, in which fell Smiorgall, son of Smeathra,
king of the Fomorians ; fifty battles against the Cruifchean-Tuath" and the Fir-
bolo-s ; twelve battles against the Longbardai0; and four battles against the
Colaistip. These are the lakes which burst forth in his time : Loch Aenbheithe11,
in Ui-Cremhthainn ; Loch Saileachr; Loch-na-ngasans, in Magh-Luirg, in Con-
naught ; and the eruption of the sea between Eabha' and Ros-Cette11. It was
by Aengus also that these plains were cleared : Magh-Glinne-Deconw,'in Cinel-

tribes are not mentioned by name in Mageoghe-
gan's translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise,
in which it is merely stated that " strangers
made many invasions in his time, but he cou-
ragiously withstood and drove them out to the
cost of their bloods and lives, by giving them
many bloody overthrows, and covering divers
fields with heaps of their dead bodies."

q Loch-Aenbheithe: i. e. the Lake of the one
Birch Tree. The territory of Ui-Creamhthainn
was known in the time of Colgan, who describes
it as a regiuncula included in the barony of Slane,

in Meath See Trias Thaum., p. 184, and O'Fla-

herty's Ogygia, part iii. c. 76. The most con-
siderable lake now in this territory is Bellahoe
Lough, on the confines of the counties of Meath
and Monaghan, and about four miles and a quar-
ter to the south of the town of Carrickmacross ;
and this is probably the Loch Aenbheithe re-
ferred to in the text.

' Loch Saileach: Lake of the Sallows. Called

by Keating Loch Sailcheadain, i. e. laws saliceti.
Not identified.

s Loch-na-nGasan: i. e. Lake of the Sprigs or
Sprays. The Editor made strict inquiry in the
territory of Moylurg, or barony of Boyle, in the
county of Roscommon, for the name of this lake,
but found that it is obsolete. Nothing has been
yet discovered to identify it.

^Eabha. — This is otherwise called Magh Eabha,
and now always Machaire- Eabha, anglice Maghe-
row. — See Magh-nEabha, under A. M. 2859-

u Ros-Cette. — This was the ancient? name of a
point of land now called " the Rosses," lying
between the river of Sligo and that of Drum-
cliff, in the barony of Carbury, and county of
Sligo. It is separated from Machaire-Eabha by
the creek and river of Drumcliffe.

" Magh-Glinne-Decon — Called Magh-Glinne-
Dearcon by Keating, i. e. the plain of the valley
of acorns ; but there is no place now bearing
either name in Tirconnell.

H

50 QHNata Rio^hachca emeaNN. [3791-

Connacca, TTlaj Cuile caol la Cenel mfcojaine, TTlaj nOfnpciac la taijne,
Qolma5h la Calpaijib, TTlaj Qpcaill la Ciappaige Luachpa,-) TTlagh Luacpa
Oeaohaib.

Qoip Domain, cpi rhfle pfchc cceo nocac a haon. Qn ceo bliabam oGnna
Qipjcech na pi£ op Gpinn mpin.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile ochr cceo a pfcc oecc. lap ccaichfm pfcc
mblia&on ppicfc oGnna Qipgrfc i pije Gpeann DO cfp la Roiceachcaij, mac
TTiaoin, mic Qonjupa OlmucaDa, i each Raijne. CXp lap an Gnna Qipgcfc
po DO ponra pcech aiji^ic i nQipgfc Rop,5o ccapao Dpfpoib Gpeann amaille
pe heachaib i caippchib.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile ochr cceo a hochc Decc. Qn ceo bliabam DO
Roicfceaij mac TTiaoin op Gpinn inopin.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile ochc cceo cfcpacac a Do. 1 ppoipcfno cuicc
mbliaban ppicfc Do Roiceaccaij i pije Gpeann cojichaip. la SeDna mac
Qipcpi i cCpuacham.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile ochc cceo ceacpacac a cpi. Qn ceD bliaDain DO
pfje Sheona, mic Qipcpi, mic Gbpic, mic Gmip, mic Ip.

Qoip Domain, cpi mfle ochc cceo cfrpacac apeachc. lap mbfic cuicc
bliabna DO Seona ipin pije, copchaip la piaca pionpcochac -\ la ITluineamon,
mac Caip Clochaij, i cCpuacham.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile ochc cceo ceacpacac a hocc. Qn ceo bliaDain
DO pfje piachac pionpcochaij op Gpinn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile ochc cceo peapccac a pfcc. lap mbeic opiachaiD
pionpcochac piche bliabain i pije Gpionn Do cfp la TTluineamon mac Caip.

1 Magh-Mucruimhe : i. e. the Plain of the Eec- * Aelmhagh: i. e. the Plain of the Lime. We

koning of the Swine. This name is now obsolete, are not told in which of the many districts in

It was anAently applied to a plain in the county Ireland called Calraighe, this plain was situated,

of Galway, lying immediately to the west of the According to O'Clery's Irish Calendar, there was

town of Athenry.— See O'Flaherty's Ogygia, in this plain a church called Domhnach-mor, in

part ni. c. 67- which seven bishops were interred.

" Magh-Cuile-Cad: i. e. the Narrow Plain of " Magh-Arcaill, in Ciarraiffhe-Luachra This

the Corner or Angle. This was the name of a name is not now applied to any plain in Kerry,

narrow plain in the barony of Banagh, in the « Magh-Luachra-Deadhaidh.—This was a level

west of the county of Donegal. tract of Sliabh Luachra, near Castleisland, in the

• Magh-n-Oensciath, in Leinster. — Not identi- county of Kerry.

fied< " Enna Airgtheach: i. e. Enna the Plunderer.

3791-] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 51

Conaill ; Magh-Mucruimhex, in Connaught ; Magh-Cuile-Cael, in Cinel-Bogh-
ainer ; Magh-n-Oensciath, in Leinsterz ; Aelmhagha, in Calraighe ; Mag- Arcaill,
in Ciarraighe-Luachra"; and Magh-Luachra-Deadhaidhc.

The Age of the World, 3791. This was the first year of Enna Airg-
theach'', as king over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3817. After Enna Airgtheach had spent twenty-
seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he fell by Raitheachtaigh, son of Maen,
son of Aengiis Olmucadha, in the battle of Raighnee. It was by this Enna
Airgtheach that silver shields' were made at Airget-Ross; so that he gave them
to the men of Ireland, together with horses and chariots.

The Age of the World, 3818. This was the first year of Roitheachtaigh,
son of Maen, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3842. After Roitheachtaigh had been twenty-five
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he fell by Sedna, son of Airtri, at Cruachain".

The Age of the World, 3843. The first year of the reign of Sedna, son of
Airtri, son of Eibhric, son of Emher, son of Ir.

The Age of the World, 3847. After Sedna had been five years in the
sovereignty, he fell by FiachaFinscothach and Muineamhon, son of Cas Clothach,
at Cruachain.

The Age of the World, 3848. The first year of the reign of Fiacha Fins-
cothach over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3867. After Fiacha Finscothach had been twenty
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he fell by Muineamhon, son of Cas. Every

Dr. O'Conor renders it " Enna Argenteus." targets to be made in this land, and bestowed

' Raighne. — This place, from which the King abundance of them on his friends and nobility

of Ossory was sometimes called Ri Raijne, was in general."

also called Magh-Eaighne, which was a plain in « Airget-Ross: i. e. the Silver Wood. This is

the ancient Ossory, in which plain was situated said to have derived its name from the silver

the church of Cill-Finche, near the ford of Ath- shields there made by Enna Airgtheach. It is

Duirnbuidhe, at the foot of a great hill called situated on the River Nore, in the parish of Rath-

Dornbuidhe.— See the Feilire Aenguis, at 5th beagh, barony of Galmoy, and county of Kil-

February, 17th September, and 5th November, kenny.— See the Ordnance Map of that county,

f Silver shields. — In Mageoghegan's translation sheets 9 and 10. See it already referred to at

of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, it is stated that A. M. 3501, 3516, and 3656.
Enna Airgtheach was of the sept of Heber, and h Cruachain — Now Rathcroghan, near Bela-

that he " was the first king that caused silver nagare, in the county of Roscommon.

H2

52 ctNNCtta Rio^hachca eineaNN. [3868.

6a pcoichpfmpach 506 magh i nGpmn i naimpip phiachac. Oosebcf bf6p a
Ian pfona ip na pgochaib ipn, 50 bpaipccfp i Ifpcpaib glainiDibh an pion.
ConaD aipe pin po Ifn an popamm piacha pionpcochac Do jaipm De.

Qoip Domain, cjn mile ochc cceo pfpcac a hocc. On ceo bliabain DO pije
TTluineamoin, mic Caip Ctochaij, op 6pinn innpin.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile ochc cceo pfchcmojac a Do. 1 ppoipcTnn an
coicceaD blia6an Do TTluineamon, acbach no ram i IT) 015 Qione. Qp lap
an rnmnfrhon po cuccaO muincfoa oip pa bpaijhoib Riogh -] Ruipfc an cop
i nGpinn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile ochc cceD pfccmojac acpf. Qn cfo bliabain DO

Qoip Domain, cpi mfle ochc cceD occmojac a Do. lap mbeic oech
mbliaona opailofpDoio ipm pije DO pochaip la hOllam ppocla.mac piachac
pfonpcochaij, i ccach Ufrhpa. Qp lap an pigh pailoeapjDoiD po cuipfo
pailge oip im larhoib aipfc i nGpinn ap cup.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile ochc cceo ochcmojac a cpf. Qn ceo b'liabam
Do pije Ollarhan pocla, mac piachac pionpcochaig.

Qoip Domain, cpf mile naoi cceao piche a Do. lap mbeic oa pichec
bliabam i pije Gpeann oOllam porla, acbail ma mup bubfn i Ufmpoij.
Qp e ceona pi lap a nofpnab peip Ueampach, ~\ ap laip Do cogbab TTlup
nOllaman i cUfmpaij. Qp e Din po opoaij caoipioch ap gach cpiocha;c

' Fin-scothach: i.e. of the Wine-flowers. Keat- [were] " then in great Use."

ing gives this cognomen the same interpretation, m Faildeargdoid. — He is called Alldeargoid by

but in Connell Mageoghegan's translation of the Keating, and Aldergoid in the Annals of Clon-

Annals of Clonmacnoise it is stated that this macnoise. This name is derived from pail, a

King " was surnamed Ftinnsgohagh of the abun- ring, oe.apj, red, and DOIO, the hand. " In his

bance of white flowers that were in his time," time gold rings were much used on men and

which seems more probable, as wine was then women's fingers in this Realm." —Annals of

unknown in Ireland. Clonmacnoise.

k Magh-Aidhne — See A.M. 3727, supra. " His own mur at Teamhair : i. e. Mur-Ol-

Chains of gold. — Keating has the same, and lamhan, i. e. Ollamh Fodhla's house at Tara.

in Mageoghegan's Annals of Clonmacnoise it In Mageoghegan's translation of the Annals of

is expressed as follows: " Mownemon was the Clonmacnoise, it is stated "that he builded a

first king that devised gould to be wrought in fair palace at Taragh only for the learned sort of

chains fit to be wore about men's necks, and this realm, to dwell in at his own charges." But

rings to be put on their fingers, which was" this is probably one of Mageoghegan's interpo-

'•'• I;

3868.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

53

plain in Ireland abounded with flowers and shamrocks in the time of Fiacha.
These flowers, moreover, were found full of wine, so that the wine was squeezed
into bright vessels. Wherefore, the cognomen, Fiacha Fin-scothach'1, continued
to be applied to him.

The Age of the World, 3868 This was the first year of the reign of
Muinemhon, son of Cas Clothach, over Ireland.

The Age of the World., 3872. At the end of the fifth year of Muineamhon,
he died of the plague in Magh-Aidhne". It was Muineamhon that first caused
chains of gold1 [to be worn] on the necks of kings and chieftains in Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3873. The first year of Faildeargdoid.

The Age of the World, 3882. After Faildeargdoid had been ten years in
the sovereignty, lie fell by Ollamh Fodhla, son of Fiacha Finscothach, in the
battle of Teamhair. It was by the King Faildeargdoid™ that gold rings were
first worn upon the hands of chieftains in Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3883. The first year of the reign of Ollamh
Fodhla, son of Fiacha Finscothach.

The Age of the World, 3922. Ollamh Fodhla, after having been forty
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, died at his own mur [house] at Teamhair11.
He was the first king by whom the Feis-Teamhrach0 was established ; and it
was by him Mur-Ollamhan was erected at Teamhair. It was he also that
appointed a chieftain over every cantred", and a Brughaidh over every town-

lations. A similar explanation of Mur-Ollamhan
is given by O'Flaherty in his Ogygia, p. 214 ;
but Keating, who quotes an ancient poem as
authority for the triennial feast or meeting at
Tara, has not a word about the palace built for
the Ollamhs — See Petrie's Antiquities of Tara
Hill, p. 6.

0 Feis-Teamhrach. — This term is translated
" Temorensia Comitia" by Dr. Lynch, in Cam-
brensis Eversus, pp. 59, 60, 301, and by O'Fla-
herty, in Ogygia, part iii. c. 29 ; but it is called
" Cena" [coena] " Teamra," in the Annals of
Tighernach, at the year 461, and translated
Feast of Taragh by Mageoghegan, in his version
of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, in which the

following notice of it occurs :

" Ollow Fodla, of the house of Ulster, was
king of Ireland, and of him Ulster took the
name. He was the first king of this land that
ever kept the great Feast at Taragh, which feast
was kept once a year, whereunto all the king's
friends and dutiful subjects came yearly; and
such as came not were taken for the king's ene-
mies, and to be prosecuted by the law and
sword, as undutiful to the state."

p Cantred: cpioca ceo : a. e. a hundred or ba-
rony containing one hundred and twenty quar-
ters of land. It is translated "cantaredus or
centivillaria regio" by Colgan. — Trias Thaum.,
p. 19, n.51.

r)4 QNNaca Rio^hachca eiReaNN. [3923.

ceo, i bpujaio ap, jach baile,-| a bpojnarii uile DO Rig Gpeann. GochaiD
ceoainm OUaman pocla, -\ ap aipe aopubpao Ollam [Po&la] ppip ap a
beic na ollam epjna ceoup, -[ ['na] Rfj [poola .1.] 6peann mpomh.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile naoi cceo piche a cpf. Qn ceo bliaoam Do pije
pionnacca, mic Ollamon pocla, op Gpmn inopin.

Qoip Domain, cpf mfle naoi cceo cfrpachac a DO. Qn picfcman bliaoam
opionnachca op Gpmn innpin. Qcbach lapom DO cam i TTluijinip la hUlcu.
dp apfimiup an pfoj pionnacca po pfpab pnfcca 50 mblap pfona conDerhfr
an pep. Qf De po lean an popamm ap pionnacca paippiom. 6lim a ainm
ap cup.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile naoi cceo cfcpacac a cpf. Qn cfo bliaDain Do
pije Slanuill, mic Ollaman pocla, op Gpmn.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile naoi cceo caogac a naoi. Qn pfchcmab bliaDain
Decc Do Slanoll ipn pije, co nepbailc i bpoipcfnD na pee pin i Ueampai j, ~\
nf pfp cia galop pop puce ache a pajail mapb, peac nf po pob Oach Do. l?o
habnaicfo e apa haicle, •) mp mbeic cfcpachac bliabam ipan aDnacal Dm
chupp po cogbao lapom la a mac .1. la hOilill mac Slanuill, -\ po rhaip a
copp gan lobab jan leajab an aipfc pin. 6a machcnaD mop -| ba hiongnao
la piopa Gpionn an nf pin.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile naoi cceo peapcca. Qn ceo bliabain Do pije
^neDe Ollgochaij op GpmO.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile naoi cceo peaccmojac a haon. Qn oapa bliabam
I

" A brttghaidh over every townland. — Dr. Lynch pretation ; but it is evidently legendary, because

renders this passage " singulis agrorum tricen- Finnachta, or Finnshneachta, was very common

ariis Dynastam, singulis Burgis praefectum con- as the name of a man among the ancient Irish,

stituit." A brughaidh, among the ancient denoting Niveus, or snow-white. The name is

Irish, meant a farmer; and his baile or townland still preserved in the surname O'Finneachta,

comprised four quarters, or four hundred and angKce Finaghty.

eighty large Irish acres of land.— See note u, " ,S?ano//._Keating derives this name from

under the year 1186. rldn, health, and oil, great, and adds that he

' Ollamh Fodhla, pronounced OllavFola: i.e. was so called because all his subjects enjoyed

the Ollamh or chief Poet of Fodhla or Ireland. great health in his time. The Annals of Clon-

s MagJi-inis in Uladh — Now the barony of macnoise contain the same remark :
Lecale, in the county of Down. See A. M. 3529 " During whose reign the kingdom was free

and 3656. from all manner of sickness." And add: " It is

1 Finnachta.— Keating gives a similar inter- unknown to any of what he died, but died

3923.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 55

landq, who were all to serve the King of Ireland. Eochaidh was the first name
of Ollamh Fodhlar; and he was called Ollarnh [Fodhla] because he had been
first a learned Ollamh, and afterwards king of [Fodhla, i. e. of] Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3923. This was the first year of the reign of
Finnachta, son of Ollamh Fodhla, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3942. This was the twentieth year of the reign
of Finnachta over Ireland. He afterwards died of the plague in Magh-inis, in
Uladh*. It was in the reign of Finnachta that snow fell with the taste of wine,
which blackened the grass. From this the cognomen, Finnachta', adhered to
him. Elim was his name at first.

The Age of the World, 3943. The first year of the reign of Slanoll, son
of Ollamh Fodhla, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3959. The seventeenth year of Slanollu in the
sovereignty ; and he died, at the end of that time, at Teamhair [Tara], and it
is not known what disease carried him off ; he was found dead, but his colour
did not change. He was afterwards buried ; and after his body had been forty
years in the grave, it was taken up by his son, i. e. Oilioll mac Slanuill ; and
the body had remained without rotting or decomposing during this period.
This thing was a great wonder and surprise to the men of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3960. The first year of the reign of Gedhe Oll-
ghothach*' over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 3971. The twelfth year of Gedhe Ollghothach in

quietly on his bed; and after that his body re- the conversation of his subjects in general in

m&inedjive years buried, and did not rott, con- his time, was as sweet a harmony to one another

sume, or change collour. He reigned 26 years." as any musick, because they lived together in

Gedhe Ollghothach — Translated " Gedius such -concord, amity, and attonement among

Grandivocus" by O'Flaherty, Ogygia, part iii. themselves that there was no discord or strife

c. 31. It is explained as follows in Dr. Lynch's heard to grow between them for any cause

translation of Keating's History of Ireland: whatsoever."

' Fratri Geidius cognomento Ollghothach In the Dinnseanchus, as preserved in the Book

successit, sic ideo nominatus quod eo regnante of Lecan, it is stated that Heremon, the son of

voces hominum maxime sonorae fuerint, otf enim Milesius, was also called Geidhe Ollghothach,

perinde ac magnum, et guth ac vox eat." and for a similar reason here ascribed for its

In the Annals of Clonmacnoise is the follow- application to the present monarch ; but these

ing passage to the same purport : accounts are clearly legendary, because the cog-

" Observers of antiquity affirm of him that nomen OUyhothach was evidently applied to these

56 ciNHata Rjo^hachua eiReaww. [3972.

oecc DO ^heDe OUgochac i pishe Gpeann, •) Do cfp i bpopcfnD na pee fin la
pmcha mac pionnachca.

Qoip Domain, cpi mile naoi cceo pfccmojar a DO. Qn cf6 bliabam
opiacha pionnailcfp, mac pfonnachca, i pijhe Gpeann. Mach a^h po ^fnaip
ina peirhfp po ba cemopiono.

Qoip Domain, rpi mile naoi cceo nocac a haon. lap mbeir piche bliabain
t>piachai6 pionnailcfp i pi£e Gpionn, copchaip i ccarh bpfgha la bfpnjal,'
mac 5eoe Ollgocliaij. Qp la piacha pionnailcfp corpoDachr Oiin Chuile
Sibpinne .1. Cfnanoup. ^ac Du ina mbiooh a apup pom ba CeananDup a
amm. Ctp lap an pijpi cfrup po rocailre calom i nGpinn Do cum uipcce
Do beich hi cuppaib. 6a Deacmaic Don connall a ioch Diompulang ina plair.

Ctoip Domain, rpi mile naoi cceo nocac a Do. Qn ceo blia&am Do bfpn-
jal, mac ^e6e Ollgorhai j, op 6pmn.

Qoip Domain, cfcpe mi'le a rpi. lap mbeich Da bliaoain Decc i pije
n6peann DO bfpnjal mac 5e6e Ollgochaij Do cfp la hOilill mac Slanuill,
"] la Siopna mac Oen.

Ctoip Domain, cffpe mile a cfcaip. Qn ceo blia&am Do pijje Oiliolla,
mic Slanuill, op Gpmo mnpin.

Qoip Domain, cfrpe mfle anaoi Decc. lap mbeic pe blia&na Decc DOilioll,
mac Slanuill, hi pije nGpeann, copchaip la Siopna mac Oen.

Qoip Domain, ceafpe mile pice. Qn ceo Bliabam Do Siopna mac Den,
mic Oemain, hi pije nGpeann innpin. Qp e an Siopna pa, mac Oen, po pcap
plaiciup Cearhpa ppi hUllcoib .1. ppi pliocc Ip. Qp 6 Dna po oiojail poppa
Rocfchcaij mac maoin po mapbpac i cCpuachain, 50 rcopcaip bfpngal mac
5e6e Ollgochaij, -| Oilioll mac Slanoill leip.

monarchs themselves from the loudness of their Kells, a town in" East Meath. The former

own voices, and not from the sweetness or mel- name denotes arx anguli adukerii ; and Ma-

lifluousness of the voices of their subjects. geoghegan, in his translation of the Annals of

11 Calf: literally cow : 05 .1. bo — Q'Clery. Clonmacnoise, says of it :

i White-headed.— The term ce.nopiono, now " He founded Dun-Cowle Sevrille (or rather

pronounced ceannann, is still in common use, Dun-Chuile Sibhrinne), now called (for avoiding

and applied to what is commonly called a white- of bawdiness) Kells." The latter name, Cean-

faced cow or horse, i. e. having a star or white annus, was first anglicised Kenlis, which is now

spot on the forehead. translated Headfort, in the name of the seat of

'Dun-Chuile-Sibrinne: i.e. Ceanannus, now the present proprietor. There is no other place

3972.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 57

the sovereignty of Ireland ; and he fell at the end of that time by Fiacha, son
of Finnachta.

The Age of the World, 3972. The first year of Fiacha Finnailches, son
of Finnachta, in the sovereignty of Ireland. Every calf* that was brought
forth iri his reign was white-headed*.

The Age of the World, 3991. After Fiacha Finnailches had been twenty
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he fell in the battle of Breagh, by Bearn-
ghal, son of Gedhe Ollghothach. It was by Fiacha Finnailches that Dun-chuile-
Sibrinnez, i. e. Ceanannus, was erected. Wherever his habitation was [placed],
Ceanannus was its name. It was by this king that the earth was first dug in
Ireland, that water might be in wells. It was difficult for the stalk3 to sustain
its corn in his reign.

The Age of the World, 3992. The first year [of the reign] of Bearnghal,
son of Gedhe Ollghothach, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4003. Bearnghal, the son of Gedhe Ollghothach,
after having been twelve years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Oilioll, son
of Slanoll, and Sirna, son of Dian.

The Age of the World, 4004. This was the first year of the reign of
Oilioll, son of Slanoll, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4019. Oilioll, son of Slanoll, after having been
sixteen years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Sirna, son of Dian.

The Age of the World, 4020. This was the first year of the reign of
Sirna, son of Dian, son of Deman, in the sovereignty of Ireland. It was this
Sirna, son of Dian, that wrested the government of Teamhair [Tara] from the
Ultab, i. e. the race of Ir. It was he, too, that revenged upon them [the death
of] Roitheachtaigh mac Main, whom they had slain at Cruachain ; so that
Bearnghal, son of Gedhe Ollghothach, and Oilioll, son of Slanoll, fell by him.

now bearing this name in Ireland, except Cean- talitas in ejus regimine," in which he mistakes

annus, or Kells, in the county of Kilkenny. the meaning of every -word except ma plair.

1 The stalk. — This word, connall, is still used b The Ulta: i. e. the people of Ulster, descended

to denote stalk, and comnleac or connlac, stalks from Ir, son of Milesius. " Oilell was king 15

or stubbles. Dr. O'Conor, who is more apt to miss years, and then was slain by Siorna Mac Deyn

the meanings of Irish words that are in common (of the sept of Heremon), who was he that vio-

use than of ancient words, translates this sentence lently took the government of the sceptre of

as follows: "Portentosa erat pestilentise mor- this land from the sept of Ulster." — Ann. Clon.

58 awNQta Rio^hachca eiReaNN. [4169-

Qoip Domain, cecpe mile ceo pfpcac a naoi. lap mbeic ceo 50 Ifich DO
bliaonaib i pijhe nGpeann Do Siopna Saojlac, mac Oein, Do ceap Id Roceach-
caij mac Roam i nQillmn. dp e an Siopna po po bpip car Qipceatcpa
pop Ulcaib, od cac SleBe Qipbpeacli, car Cmn Duin i nQppal, each mona
poichnifrld hUib Pailje F°P Hlaipcme 1 Gpna, each Luacpa, each Claipe,
each Samna, each Cnuicc Ochoip. 801516 Do pop pomoipib hi ccpich TTliDe.
dp laip beop po cuipeaD cac TTlona UpojaiDe hi cCiannaccaib an can cug
Lujaip mac Luijoij .1. Do piol Gmip, poplfon opomoipib i nGpinn ima pigh,
Ceapapn a ainm. CtccaipgiD Siopna pip Gpeann DO chachugaD ppiii 50
TTlom Upojaioe. Re mbeic 05 plaiDe an caca Doib Do puipmfb cam popP".
conapaD tujaip, -| Ceapapn De conamuincip, -\ opong Dipim opfpoib Gpeann
amailli ppiu.

Qp a raimpip Siopna ona cobpuchcab Sciopcaije i Laijmb, Ooailce hi
Cpic Roipp, Niche i TTnaijh TTluipcemne, Leamna i TTlumain -| Slaine la
hUib Cpemcamn.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile ceo peachcmojac. Qn ceo bliaDain Do pije
Roceachcaij, mic Roam, op Gpmn innpin.

c Aittinn This was the ancient name of a k Samhain — Now Cnoc-Samhna, i.e. the hill

large fort on the hill of Cnoc Qilmne, anglice of Samhain, not far from Bruree, in the parish

Knockaulin, near Kilcullen, in the county of of Tankardstown, barony of Coshma, and county

Kildare — See Dinnsenchus, in the Book of Bal- of Limerick See Life of St. Fionnchu in the

lymote, fol. 193. Book of Lismore, fol. 70, b.

d Airceattair — O'Flaherty calls it Aras-Kel- ' Cnoc-Ochair — Not identified,

tair, which was one of the names of the large m Moin-Trogaidhe: i. e. the Bog of Trogaidhe.

rath at Downpatrick, in the county of Down. — This was probably situated in Ciannachta-

* Sliabh-Airbhreach — Not identified. Breagh, in the east of the ancient Meath,

f Ceann-duin in Assal — Assal was the ancient and not in the northern Ciannachta, in the

name of the district lying round Cnoc-Droma- present county of Londonderry. The great

Assail, anglice Tory-Hill, near Groom, in the length of this monarch's reign is evidently

county of Limerick ; but no name like Ceann- legendary, or rather a blunder of transcribers,

duin is now to be found in that neighbourhood. O'Flaherty, Ogygia, part m. c. 32, refers to the

« Moin-Foichnigh in Ui-Failghe — There is no Book of Lecan, fol. 291, to shew that he lived

bog now bearing this name in the territory of 150 years, for which reason he was called the

Offaly. Long-lived. The Annals of Clonmacnoise, as

h Luachair: i. e. Sliabh Luachra, near Castle- translated by Mageoghegan, in which the fol-

island, in the county of Kerry. lowing notice of him occurs, give him a reign

1 Claire — A lull near Duntrileague, in the of only twenty years :

county of Limerick — See note under A. D. 1600. " Oilell was king 1 5 years, and then was slain

4169.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

59

The Age of the World, 4169. Sirna Saeghlach, son of Dian, after having
been a century and a half in the sovereignty of Ireland fell by Roitheach-
taigh, son of Roan, at Aillinn0. This was the Sirna who gained the battle of
Aircealtair" over the Ultonians ; the two battles of Sliabh Airbhreach6; the
battle of Ceann-duin, in Assalf; the battle of Moin-Foichnigh, in Ui Failghe8,
over the Martini and Ernai ; the battle of Luachair"; the battle of Claire' ; the
battle of Samhain"; the battle of Cnoc-Ochair1. An attack was made by him
on the Fomorians, in the territory of Meath. It was by him, moreover, was
fought the battle of Moin-Troghaidhem, in Ciannachta, when Lughair, son of
Lughaidh, of the race of Emhear, had brought in a force of Fomorians into
Ireland, with their king, Ceasarn by name. Sirna drew the men of Ireland
to make battle against them to Moin-Trogaidhe. As they were fighting the
battle a plague was sent upon them, of which Lughair and Ceasarn perished,
with their people, and a countless number of the men of Ireland along with
them.

It was in the time of Sirna, also, happened the eruption of the Scirtach", in
Leinster ; of the Doailt0, in Crich Rois ; of the Kith", in Magh-Muirtheimhne ;
of the Leamhainq, in Munster ; and of the Slaine, in Ui Creamhthainnr.

The Age of the World, 4170. This was the first year of the reign of Roi-
theachtaigh, son of Roan, over Ireland.

by Siorna mac Deyn of the sept of Heremon,
who was he that violently took the govern-
ment of the sceptre of this land from the sept
of Ulster. Siorna, after slaying this King,
was King himself, in whose time Lowgire mac
Lowagh brought in Fomoraghs into Ireland.
King Siorna went to meet them at the Bog of
Trogye in Kyannaghta, with all the forces of
the kingdom, where a cruel battel was fought
between them with such vehemency that almost
both sides perished therein with overlabouring
themselves, and especially the Irish nation with
their King. Also Lowgyre and Kisarne, King
of the Fomoraghs, were slain. Others write
that King Siorna was slain by Rohaghty mac
Eoayn, when he had reigned 21 years. It is also
reported of him that he lived an outlaw 100

years together /before he was King, and that"
[he fought] " only against the Ulstermen."

n The Scirtach: i. e. the Eiver Skirt.

0 The Doailt, in Feara-Rois. — A stream in the
south of Monaghan.

p Nith. — This was the ancient name of the
river of Ardee, flowing through the plain of
Conaille Muirtheimhne, in the county of Louth.
— See Combat of Cuchulainn and Ferdia mac
Domain.

q The Leamhain. — Now the Laune, near Kil-
larney, in the county of Kerry. — See note un-
der A. D. 1570.

' The Slaine, in Ui-Creamhthainn — This was
the name of a small stream flowing into the
Boyne from the north side, near the village of
Baile-Slaine, now Slane, in Meath.

i2

go aNNdta Rioshachca eirceaNN. [4176.

Qoip Domain, ceirpe mile ceo peachcmoj;ac a pe. lap mbec peachc
mbliabna hi pighe nGpeann DO Roceachcaig, po loipcc ceni jealam 6 hi
nDun Sobaipce. Op lap an Roceachcaij po appichc cappaic ceicpe nfch
ap cup i nGpinn.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile ceo peachcmo^ac apfchc. Gn bliabam DGlim
Oillpinpneachca, mac Roceachcaij, hi pfje nGpeann, 50 copchaip i ppoipcfno
na bliabna pin la 5'a^cliai6. mac Oiliolla Olcaoin. T?o peapab pneachca
mop 50 mblap pfona ipm mbliabainpi. Ctp aipe po gaipcf Oillpinpneachca
oepium.

Qoip Domain, ceirpe mile ceo pfchcmojac a hochc. Qn ceo bliaDam
DO 5'allc^aiD) ^ac Oiliolla Olcaoin, mic Sfopna, i pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile ceo ochcmojac a pe. lap mbech naoi
mbliabna DO ^mllchaiD i pighe nGpeann Do pochaip la hQpc Imleach i ffloij
TTluaiDe.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile ceo ochcmojac a pfcc. Qn ceo bliaoain oQpc
Imleach, mac Glim Oillpinpneachca, i pije nGpeann innpin.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile ceD nochac a hochc. lap mbeic Da bliaoain
Decc oQpc Imleac i pije nGpeann Do cfp la NuaDac pionnpdil. '

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile ceD nocac a naoi. Qn ceiD bliaDam DO pije
Nua&aiD pmnpdil op Gpinn innpin.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile Da ceo cpiocac a hochc. lap mbeic Da pichfc
bliabam hi pije nGpeann Do NuaDa pionnpdil Do cfp la 6peap, mac Qipc
Imlij.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile Da ceo cpiocac a naoi. Qn ceo bliaDam Do
pije 6peip mic Qipc Imlig op Gpinn innpin.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile Da ceo cfcpacac a peachc. lap mbeic naoi
mbliabna DO bpeap i pije nGpeann Do pochaip la hGochaiD nQpcach hi
Capn Conlnam.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile Da ceo cfrpacac a hochc. Gn bliabam

' Chariots.—" Roheaghty was the first" [Irish] t EUm Qaifinshneackla: literally, Elim of the

" king that ever used coaches with four horses great Wine-snow! " He was so called because

in Ireland. He reigned seven years, and, at it rained snow continually that year."— Annals

last, was burned by wilde fire at Dunsovarkie. of Clonmacnoise. Both derivations are mere

He was a very good king."— Annals of Clon. guesses of late writers.

4176.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

61

The Age of the World, 4176. After Roitheachtaigh had been seven years
in the sovereignty of Ireland, lightning burned him at Dun-Sobhairce [Dunse-
verick]. It was by this Roitheachtaigh that chariots5 of four horses were first
used in Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4177. Elim Oillfinshneachta, son of Roitheach-
taigh, after having been one year in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell, at the end
of that year, by Giallchaidh, son of Oilioll Ollchain. Snow, with the taste of
wine, fell in this year, whence he was called Oillfinshneachta1.

The Age of the World, 4178. The first year of Giallchaidh, son of Olioll
Olchain, son of Sirna, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4186. Giallchaidh, after having been nine years
in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Art Imleach, in Magh Muaidhe".

The Age of the World, 4187. This was the first year of Art Imleach, .son
of Elim Oillfinshneachta, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4198. Art Imleach, after having been twelve
years" in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Nuadhat Finnfail.

The Age of the World, 4199. This was the first year of the reign of
Nuadhat Finnfail over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4238. Nuadhat Finnfail, after having been forty
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Breas*, son of Art Imleach.

The Age of the World, 4239. This was the first year of the reign of
Breas, son of Art Imleach, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4247. Breas, after having been nine years in the
sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Eochaidh Apthach, at Carn-Conluainy.

The Age of the World, 4248. Eochaidh Apthachz was one year in the

u Magh-Muaidhe — This was either the plain
of the River Moy, in North Connaught, or a
plain situated at the foot of Cnoc-Muaidhe, or

Knockmoy, in the county of Gal way See

A. M. 3529, supra.

w Twelve years. — The Annals of Clonmacnoise
give him but a reign of six years, and add: " he
builded seven Dowries or Pallaces for himself, to
dwell in them to recreate himself." " Septem
munimenta fossis vallavit." — Ogygia, part iii.
c. 32.

* Breas. — He is called Breasrigh by Keating,
and Breasry in the Annals of Clonmaciioise,
which add : " In whose time Fomorie came
again into Ireland ; but he overthrew them in
many battles, and did quite expel them out of
the kingdom."

1 Carn-ConLuain. — Not identified.

* Eochaidh Apthach — " Eochye Ophagh, Cap-
tain of the former king's guards. He was of Cor-
kelaye" [Race of Lughaidh, son of Ith] " usurped
the kingdom and name of king thereof, after the

62 awHata Rioshactica emeaNN. [4249.

oGochaiD Qpcach, mac pmn,hi pije nGpeann, -\ oo pochaip i bpoipceann na
blia&na pin la pionn, mac bpacha.

Qoip Domain, ceirpe mile Da ceo cfcpocac a naoi. Ctn ceD bliaDam Do
pije pmn, mic bpacha, op Gpmn innpin.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile Da ceD pfccmojac. lap mbeic Da bliaDain
ap pichic hi pijhe nGpeann opionn mac bpacha Do cfp la Seona mac bpfip
a TTlumain.

Qoip Domain, ceirpe mile Da ceD pfccmojac a liaon. Qn ceiD bliaDam
DO Seona lonnappaij, mac bpeip, mic Ctipc Imlig, hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, ceirpe mile Da ceD nochac. lap mbeic piche bliaDam hi
pije nGpeann Do Se&na lonnappaiD Do pochaip la Siomon mbpfc.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile Da ceD nochac a haon. Qn ceo b'liaoam Do
Siomon bpeac, mac QoDam ^laip, i pijhe nGpeann innpin.

Qoip Domain, ceirpe mile Da ceo nochac a pe. lap mbeic pe bliaDna
comlana i pije nGpeann Do Siomon bpfc, macQoDam^laip, DO ceap IdOuach
pionn.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile Da ceD nocac a peace. Qn ceD bliaDam Do
Duach pionn, mac Sebna lonnappaij, hi pije nGpeann innpin.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpf ceo ape. lap mbeic ofich mbliaDna hi
pije nGpeann Do Ouach pionn, mac Se&na lonnappaij, Do pochaip i ccac
TTlaije la TTiuipeaDac bolgpach.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceo a pfcc. T?o caic TTluipfnac bolgpac
mi pop bliaDam i pijhe nGpeann 50 ccopcaip i ccionn na pee hfpin la hGnoa
nOfpcc, mac Ouaich.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceo a hocc. Qn ceio bliaDam DGnDa Ofpg,
mac Ouach Pino, hi pije nGpeann innpin.

Qoip Domain,. ceicpe mile cpf ceD a naoi Decc. lap mbeic Da bliaDam
Decc DGnna Dfpg, mac Ouach, hi pije nGpeann, acbach DO cam i Sleb TTlipp
50 pochuiDe moip uime.

former king's death, and obtained the same one every month."

year. There was great faintness, generally, over a Sedna Innarraighe Keating says that he

all the wholekingdom, once every month, during was called icnnappuio, because he was the first

that year. He was slain by Finn mac Braha." that paid stipends to soldiers; or, as Dr. Lynch

Keating says that he was called Qp^ac, destruc- and Mageoghegan understand it, to people in

five, from plagues which visited his subjects general. " Cognomentum Innarradh, quod mer-

4249.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 63

sovereignty of Ireland, and he fell, at the end of that year, by Finn, son of
Bratha.

The Age of the World, 4249. This was the first year of the reign of Finn,
son of Bratha, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4270. Finn, son of Bratha, after having been
twenty-two years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Sedna, son of Breas, in
Munster.

The Age of the World, 4271. The first year of the reign of Sedna Innar-
raigh'', son of Breas, son of Art Imleach, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4290. Sedna Innarraigh, after having been twenty
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Simon Breac.

The Age of the World, 4291. This was the first year of Simon Breac,
son of Aedhan Glas, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4296. Simon Breac, the son of Aedhan Glas,
after having been six full years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Duach
Finn.

The Age of the World, 4297. This was the first year of Duach Finn, son
of Sedna Innarraigh, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4306. Duach Finn, son of Sedna Innaraigh, after
having been ten years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell in the battle of Maghb,
by Muireadhach Bolgrach.

The Age of the World, 4307. Muireadhach BolgVach spent a month and
a, year in the sovereignty of Ireland, and he fell, at the end of that time, by Enda
Dearg, son of Duach.

The Age ot the World, 4308. This was the first year of Enda Dearg in
the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4319. Enda Dearg, son of Duach, after having
been twelve years in the sovereignty of Ireland, died of a plague at Sliabh Misc,
with a great number about him.

cedem significat, idcirco sortitus, quod eo reg- c Sliabh-Mis There are two mountains of

nante opera mercedare locari csepte fuerint." — this name in Ireland, one in the county of An-

Lynch. " This Sedna was a worthy noble king, trim, anglice Slemmish, and the other near Tra-

and the first that rewarded men with chattle in lee, in the county of Kerry, which is the one

Ireland." — Annals of Clonmacnoise. referred to in the text. — See Ogygia, part iii.

b Magh : i. e. the Plain. Not identified. c. 33. Keating says that silver was struck for

54 QNHaca Rio^hachca eineaNN. [4320.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceD piche. Qn ceo bliabam DO tinhorn
lapDonn, mac Gnna Dfipj, hi jiije nGpeann innpn.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceD piche a hochc. Ctnaoi Do Lughaib
lapoonn hi pije nGpeann 50 ccopcaip la Sfoplam hi RaicClocaip.

Ctoip Domain, ceirpe mile cpi ceD piche a naoi. Qn ceo bliabam Do
Sioplam, mac pinD, mic bpaca, hi pije nGpeann innpin.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceo cfcpacac a cfcaip. lap mbeic pe
bliabna oecc Do Sioplam hi pije nGpeann DO pocaip la nGochaib nUaipcfp.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceo cfrpacac a cuij. Qn ceD bliabam
D6ochai& Uaipcheap i pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceo caogac ape. lap mbeic Da bliabain
Decc DGochaiD Uaipcfp hi pighe nGpeann Do pochaip la macoib Conjail .1.
Gochaib ~\ Conainj.

Ctoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceD caojjac a pfcc. Qn ceo b'liaDam Do
Da mac ConjailCopccapaij .1. Ouach Ueampac, mic TTluipfohaig bol^paij
.1. GochaiD piabmuine -\ Conaing beajfglacli, na piojaib op Gpinn, Dfpcapc
Gpeann la hGochaiD, a cuaipcfpc la Conaing.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceo peapcac a haon. lap mbeic cuij bli-
abna i ccompighe opGpinn DGochai&piaDmuinei DoConams bfgeaglach DO
pocaip GochaiD la Lugaib Caimbfpg, mac Gachach Uaijicfp, -\ DO pcapaD an
pijhe ppi Conaing.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceo pfpccac a Do. Qn ceo bliabain oo
Cujaib Laimofpj mac Gachuch Uaipcfp i pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceo peapccac a hocc. Q Sfcc Do Lujaib
nGpeann 50 ccopcaip la Conaing, mac Congail.

the first time in Ireland in his time, which it terrain, vel turn cum erectus staret, pertingen-

was at a place called Airgiod-Ross, on the Eiver tibus, sir enim perinde est ac longa ac lamh ac

Feoir, in Ossory. " Quo Eege argentum in Hi- manus." _ Lynch.

bernia primum Airgiod- Rossis signari captum." " Sirelawe was so called because he had such

—Lynch. The same is asserted by O'Flaherty, long hands, that when he would stand or be on

Ogygia (ubi supra) ; but no mention is made horseback, he could, without stooping, reach to

of the latter circumstance in the Annals of the ground."— Annals of Clonmacnoise.

Clonmacnoise. f Eochaidh Z7a«rcAeas._ Keating understands

d Rath-Clochair: i. e. the Rath or Fort of the this as Eochaidh of the Wicker Boats. " Agno-

Rocks. Not identified. mine tracto a gcaphig rudi viminum contextione

• Sirlamh.—" Nomine parto a longis manibus, compactis, et pecorum obductis corio. Fuarchis

4320.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

65

The Age of the World, 4320. This was the first year of Lughaidh lar-
donn, son of Enda Dearg, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4328. The ninth year of Lughaidh lardonn in
the sovereignty of Ireland, when he fell, by Sirlamh, at Rath-Clochair11.

The Age of the World, 4329. This was the first year of Sirlamh8, son of
Finn, son of Bratha, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4344. Sirlamh, after having been sixteen years
in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Eochaidh Uairches.

The Age of the World, 4345. The first year of Eochaidh Uaircheas' in
the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4356. Eochaidh Uaircheas, after having been
twelve years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by the sons of Congall : i. e.
Eochaidh and Conaing.

The Age of the World, 4357. The first year of the two sons of Congal
Cosgarach8 [son] of Duach Teamrach, son of Muireadhach Bolgrach, namely,
Eochaidh Fiadhmuine" and Conaing Begeaglach, over Ireland; the south of
Ireland belonging to Eochaidh, and the north to Conaing.

The Age of the World, 4361. After Eochaidh Fiadhmuine and Conaing
Begeaglach had been five years in the joint sovereignty of Ireland, Eochaidh
fell by Lughaidh Laimhdhearg, son of Eochaidh Uaircheas, and the sovereignty
was wrested from Conaing.

The Age of the World, 4362. The first year of Lughaidh Laimhdhearg1,
son of Eochaidh Uaircheas, in the sovereignty of Ireland,

The Age of the World, 4368. The seventh of Lughaidh in the sovereignty
of Ireland, when he fell by Conaing, son of Congal.

enim est corbis seu crates minus arte contextus.
Eochus biennium Hibernise accedere prohibitus,
piratum egit e lentribus, ea, qua dixi ratione,
confectus epibatas suos in litore expositos jubens
prsedas a litorum accolis abductas in paronem
importare." — Lynch .

g Congal Cosgarach — Keating makes Eochaidh
Fiadhmuine and Conaing Begeaglach the sons
of Duach Teamhrach. From this it would ap-
pear that Congal Cosgarach was an alias name
for Duach Teamhrach.

b Eochaidh Fiadhmuine, pronounced Eochy
Feamoney : i. e. Eochaidh the Huntsman. " As-
suetus erat Eochus cervorum venatione multum
indulgere: quod illi cognomen Fiadhmuine fecit,
fiadh nimirum cervum interpretamur, et main,
silvam."

1 Lughaidh Laimhdhearg : i. e. Lughaidh the
Red-handed. " Regno deinde potitus est Luga-
chus Eochi Uarchesi filius, cognomento Rubri-
manus, a rubra macula quse manum inficiebat."
— Lynch.

K

66 awwata Rioshachca eiReawn. [4369

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceo pfpccac a naoi. Qn ceo bliabam DO
Conamj bfjeajlach, mac Conjail, i pije nGpeann innpin oopibipi.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceD ochcmojac a hochc. lap mbeic piche
bliabam hi pije nGpeann Do Conainj becceajlach Do cfp la hQpc mac
LmjDeach. Op aipe DO beipci Conainj bfseaglach ppip ap nf po gab oman
ppip nach aon e cen po maip.

Qoip Domain, ceirpe mile rpi ceo ochcmojac a naoi. Qn ceo BliaDam
oQpr, mac CuijDeach, mic Gacac Uaipcfp, hi pije nGpeann innpn.

Qoip Domain, ceirpe mile cpi ceo nocac acfraip. lap mbeir pe bliabna
i pije nGpeann oCtpc, mac CuijDeach, po pochaip la piaca Uolgpac -\ la a
mac Ouach LaDpac.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cpi ceo nochac a cuig. Qn ceiD bliabam
DpiachaiD Uolccpach hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cficpe ceD a cfcaip. lap mbeich Deich mbliaDna
hi pije nGpeann opiachaib Uolgpach, mac TTIuipfDhaig bolccpaij, Do cfp la
hOilioll mac Qipc i mboipino.

Qoip Domain, ceirpe mile ceicpe ceD a cuig. Qn ceo BliaDain oOilioll
Pionn, mac Qipc, mic LuijDeach LaimDepcc, op Gpinn innpin.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cficpe ceo a cuig Decc. lap mbeic en bliabain
065 hi pije nGpeann oOilioll Pionn, mac Qipc, mic Luijoeach
DO po chaip la hQipjfcmaip -\ Id Duach tabjaip hi ccach Obba.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cficpe ceo ape Decc. Qn ceD bliabam DGoch-
aib mac Oiliolla pinn hi pije nGpeann innpin.

Qoip Oomain, cficpe mile cficpe ceo piche aDo. lap mbeic peachc
mbliabna hi pighe nGpeann, oGochaib, mac Oiliolla pinn, Do pochaip la nQip-
jfcmaip -\ la Ouach Labgaip hi nQine.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile ceicpe ceD piche a cpi. Qn ceD bliabam
oQipgfcmap, mac Sioplaim, hi pije nGpeann innpin.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cficpe ceD caoccac a Do. Qn oeachmab

k Eegeaglach : i. e. Little- fearing. " He was perterriti peperit."— Lynch.

so called because he was never known to be According to the Book of Fenagh he held

afra,d in his life.»_^Wn. Clan. his royal residence at Fenagh, in Magh-Eein, in

Conmgus Imperterntus viginti annis regna- the present county of Leitrim, where he built a

vit ne rnimmo mterim pavore in quamvis atroci beautiful stone fort, within which the monastery

pugna perstnctus; qu* res illi cognomen Im- of Fenagh was afterwards erected

4369-] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 07

The Age of the World, 4369. This was the first year of Conaing Begeag-
lach, son of Congal, a second time in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4388. After Conaing Begeaglach had been twenty
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he fell by Art, son of Lughaidh. He was
called Conaing Begeaglach", because he was never seized with fear of any one
while he lived.

The Age of the World, 4389. This was the first year of Art, son of Lugh-
aidh, son of Eochaidh Uaircheas, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4394. Art, son of Lughaidh, after having been
six years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Fiacha Tolgrach and his son,
Duach Ladhrach.

The Age of the World, 4395. The first year of Fiacha Tolgrach in the
sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4404. Fiacha Tolgrach, son of Muireadhach, after
having been ten years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Oilioll, son of Art,
in Boirinn1.

The Age of the World, 4405. This was the first year of Oilioll Finn, son
of Art, son of Lughaidh Laimhdhearg, over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4415. Oilioll Finn, son of Art, son of Lughaidh
Laimhdhearg, after having been eleven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell
by Airgeatmhar and Duach Ladhghair, in the battle of Odhbham.

The Age of the World, 4416. This was the first year of Eochaidh, son of
Oilioll Finn, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4422. Eochaidh, son of Oilioll Finn, after having
been seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Airgeatmhar, at Aine".

The Age of the World, 4423. This was the first year of Airgeatmhar, son
of Sirlamh, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4452. The thirtieth year of Airgeatmhar in the

' Boirinn,— Now Burrin, a celebrated rocky m Odhbha. — See A. M. 302, supra.

territory, now a barony, in the north of the n Aine : i. e. Knockany, near Bruff, in the

county of Clare. The name, which enters county of Limerick. It is stated in the Annals

largely into the topographical names through- of Clonmacnoise, that " King Eochy was then at

out Ireland, is derived, in a manuscript in Trin. the Faire of Cnockayne, where Argedwar and

Coll. Dublin, H. 2. 15, p. 180, col. 2, line 23, Dwagh came unawares upon him, and slew him

from bopp, great, and onn, a stone or rock. and many of the nobility of Munster."

K2

68

emecmN.

[4453.

bl.abam pichfc DQip5femap hi pi5he nGpeann 50 ccopchaip la Duach Lab-
pac -| la tuccaib taighbe mac Gachach.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cficpe ceo cao5ac a rpf. Qn ceo bliabam Do
Duach Lab5pach, mac piachac Col5pai£, hi pijhe nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cfirpe mile cficpe ceD peapccac a Do. Q Deich Do Duach
La&spach hi pijhe nGpeann 50 ccopcaip la Lujaib Caijbe.

Qoip Domain, cfirpe mile cficpe ceD peapccac a cpi. Ctn ceD bliabain no
Lushaib Laijbe hi pige nGpeann innyin.

Ctoif Domain, cficpe mile cficpe ceo reapccac anaoi. lap mbeic peachr
mbliaDna hi pije nGpeann DO LujhaiD Cashbe DO ceap la hQob T?uaoh,
mac mboDaipn, mic Qipsfomaip.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile ceirpe ceo peacrmojac. Qn ceD bliabam
DQoD T?ua&, mac ba&aipn, hi pijhe nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cfirpe ceD peachcmojac ape. lap mbeic peachc
mbliabna hi pije nGpeann DQoD Ruab, mac babaipn, po pagoib an pije 05
Dichopba, mac Demain, lap ccaicfm an cfio fealoio Do bubein, ap po bacup
paca paip ima cealjab uab i ccionn peachc mbliabna Do Diocopba, i ap
Diocopba bfop ima legab uab DO Ciombaoch mp peachc mbli'abna oile, ~\
arhlaib pimap nupo 50 popbab a pplaca. Qp aipe DO ponpac an chopa ipm
immon pi je ap pobrap meic cpi nDfpbparap.

Qoip Domain, cfircpe mile cficpe ceD peachcmojac, apfcc. Qn ceo
bliabam DO Dioropba, mac Demain, hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cficpe ceo ochcmojac acpi. lap mbeic peachc
mbliabna hi pije nGpeann DO Diocopba, mac Demain, po pajaib an pi£e 05
Ciombaoc, mac pionncam, uaip ba Do painic an peal lap nDiocopba.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cficpe ceo ochcmojac a cfcaip. Qn ceD
bliabam DO Ciombaoc mac pionncam hi pi£e nGpeann innpin.

0 Duach Ladhgrach: i. e. Duach the Vindic-
tive, or quick avenger of wrongs. " Appellatus
est Ladhrach quasi luathagra, id est preepropera
poense repetitio, quod quern in flagrant! delicto
reprehendisset non eum loco excedere ante datas
admissi sceleris poenas passus est." — Lynch.

' Lughaidh Laighdhe Anglicised Lowaye

Laye by Mageoghegan in the Ann. Clon. Keating

tells a strange legend to account for this name.

q Injunctions. — " These were three kings of
Ireland at once. All were kinsmen, Hugh,
Dehorba, and Kimboye ; and because they lived
together in some contention for the kingdom,
for their better peace and security there was
order taken, for their agreement in their govern-
ment, that each of them should rule seven

44.53.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 69

sovereignty of Ireland, when he fell by Duach Ladhgrach and Lughaidh Laigh-
dhe, son of Eochaidh.

The Age of the World, 4453. The first year of Duach Ladhgrach0, sou
of Fiacha Tolgrach, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4462. The tenth year of Duach Ladhgrach in the
sovereignty of Ireland, when he fell by Lughaidh Laighdhe.

The Age of the World, 4463. This was the first year of Lughaidh Laigh-
dhep in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4469. Lughaidh Laighdhe, after having been
seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Aedh Ruadh, son of Bodharri,
son of Airgeatmhar.

The Age of the World, 4470. The first year of Aedh Ruadh, son of
Badharn, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4476. Aedh Ruadh, son of Badharn, after having
been seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, left the sovereignty to Dithorba,
son of Deman, after having spent the first period himself, for there were injunc-
tions'1 upon him to resign it to Dithorba at the end of seven years ; and on
Dithorba, also, to resign it to Cimbaeth at the end of seven years more ; and
so in succession to the end of their reigns [lives]. The reason that they made
this agreement respecting the sovereignty was, because they were the sons of
three brothers

The Age of the World, 4477. The first year of Dithorba, son of Deman,
in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4483. Dithorba, son of Deman, after having been
seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, resigned the kingdom to Cimbaeth,
son of Fintan, for his was the turn after Dithorba.

The Age of the World, 4484. This was the first year of Cimbaeth, son
of Fintan, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

years orderly, one after another, without impe- break what they could ; the poets to chide and

diment of any of the rest ; and for making good scould at them in their Rhymes and writtings,

the same there were seven Magitians, seven with as great a disgrace as they might invent,

poets, and seven principal Lords of the Ulster which was & thing in these days much feared

nobility, chosen out to see that agreement firmly by the Irish nation ; and the seven principal

kept. The Magitians by their art to work Lords to follow and prosecute the violator with

against him that would the said agreement fire and sword. But all this was not necessary

70 anwata Rioghachca emeawN. [4490.

Qoip Domain, cfirpe mite cficpe ceo nochar. lap mbfic peachc mbliabna
hi pige nGpeann DO Ciombaoch, mac pionncam, po pagoib an pighe 05 Qob
Ruab, mac babaipn.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cfirpe ceo nochac a peachc. lap mbeic peachc
mbliabna hi pige nGpeann an oapa peachc oQob Ruaoh, mac babaipn, po
pagaib an pige 05 Oiocopba bo pibipi.

Qoip Domain, cfirpe mile cfirpe cep nochac a hochc. Qn ceD bliabain
DO Oiorhopba, mac Oemain, an oapa peace po gab pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cuig cec a cfcaip. lap mbfic peachc mbliaDna
DO Oiocopba Don cup pin hi pijhe nGpeann po pagoib a peal 05 Ciombaoc,
mac pionncuin.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cuij ceD a cuig. Qn ceD bliabain Do Ciom-
baoc an oapa peachc po gab pije nGapeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cuig ceo a haon noecc. lap mbfic peachc
mbliaDna DoCiombaoc hi pighe nGpeann, an Oapa peachc, po pctgoib an pighe
05 GOD T?uao, mac baoaipn.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cuij ceo a Do Decc. Qn ceo bliabain oQob
17ua6,mac6a6aipn, hi pighe nGpeann (an cpfp peachc pogab an pije) innpin.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cuig ceD a hochc Decc. lap mbeic pfchc
mbliaDna hi pije nGpeann oQoo l?ua&, mac baoaipn, (an cpfp peachc po
gab pighe)po baibfo i nGappRuaioh, co po habnachc ipin pich 6p up in fpa,
conab uaba Do gapap Sfch Qoba, ~[ Gapp Qoba l?uaioh.

Qoip Domain, cfirpe mile cuig ceo a naoi Decc. Qn ceo bliabain Do
Diochopba, an cpfp peachc po gab pige nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, ceirpe mile cuig ceo piche a cuig. lap mbfic peachc
mbliabna Do Diochopba hi pighe nGpeann (an cpfp peachc) po pagoib an
pige ag Ciombaoch.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cuig cec piche ape. Qn ceo bliabain oo Ciom-
baech i pige nGpeann an cpfp peachc po gab an pige innpin.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cuig ceo cpiocac aoo. lap mbfic peachc

for preservation of their agreement, for they did name), leaving no issue behind him but one only

agree without any square at all, till at last Daughter, Macha Mongroe ; in English, Macha

Hugh Eoe was drowned in Easroe (of whom of the red hair." — Annals of Clonmacnoise.
that Easse, or falling of the water, took the ' Sith-Aedha: i. e. hill or tumulus of Aedh,

4490.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 71

The Age of the World, 4490. Cimbaeth, son of Fintan, after having been
seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, resigned the kingdom to Aedh Ruadh,
son of Badharn.

The Age of the World, 4497. Aedh Ruadh, son of Badharn, after having
been, for the second time, seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, resigned
the kingdom to Dithorba again.

The Age of the World, 4498. The first year of Dithorba, son of Deman,
the second time that he assumed the sovereignty of Ireland.
- The Age of the World, 4504. Dithorba, after having been on that [second]
occasion seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, gave his turn to Cimbaeth,
son. of Fintan.

The Age of the World, 4505. The first year of Cimbaeth, the second
time that he assumed the monarchy of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4511. Cimbaeth, after having been for the second
time in the sovereignty of Ireland, resigned the kingdom to Aedh Ruadh, son
of Badharn.

The Age of the World, 4512. This was the first year of Aedh Ruadh,
son of Badharn, in the sovereignty of Ireland, the third time that he assumed
the government.

The Age of the World, 4518. Aedh Ruadh, sou of Badharn, after he had
been (the third time that he assumed the government) seven years in the sove-
reignty of Ireland, was drowned in Eas Ruaidh, and buried in the mound over
the margin of the cataract ; so that from him Sith-Aedhar and Eas-Aedha$
are called.

The Age of the World, 4519. The third year of Dithorba, the third time
that he took the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4525. After Dithorba had been in the sove-
reignty of Ireland (the third time), he resigned the kingdom to Cimbaeth.

The Age of the World, 4526. This was the first year of Cimbaeth in the
sovereignty of Ireland, the third time that he took the sovereignty.

The Age of the World, 4532. After Cimbaeth had been seven years in

now Mullaghshee at Ballyshannon. — See notes taract or waterfall, now Assaroe, or the Salmon
under A. D. 1597 and 1599- Leap, on the River Erne, at Ballyshannon — See

* Eas-Aedha Ruaidh: \. e. Aedh Ruadh's ca- notes at A. D. 1184 and 1 194.

72

[4533.

mbliabna hi pije nGpeann DO C.mbaoc an cpfp peachc, Po pa.O TTlaca mjfn
Qooa RuaiD, mic babaipn, ba 16 peal a hacap Don p,5he. Clcbfpc Diochopba
1 Ciombaoch net ciobpaoaip pighe DO mnaoi. peacha,p each fcoppa, bpipip
TTlacha poppa 50 pop lonnapb Oiochopba co na cloinn hi cConnachcaib co
copcaip i cCopann. Do bfpc mppin Ciombaoch cuicce Do ceili 01,-] Do beip
in pighe DO. Do choiDpi mpom na haonap hi cConnachcaib, -\ cug clann
Diochopba 16 i noaopcfngal co hUlcoib a lop a nfipc,-] Do bfpc iaD po cpom
Daoipe 50 po claibpfc l?dc Gamna 01, 5° ma6 P buD ppiomcacaip Ulab DO

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cuig ceo cpiocac acpf. Qn ceo bliabain Do
Ciombaoc hi pijhe nSpeann lap na cabaipc cuicce DO TTlacha map cele.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile cuig ceo cpiocac anaoi. lap mbfic f cache
mbliaona hi pije nGpeann DO Ciombaoc mac pioncam, lap na cabaipc cuice
DO TTlacha, acbail i nGamoin TTlaca. Qp e ceo pf Gamna an Ciombaoch
hi'pm.

Qoip Domain, cfirpe mile cuig ceo cfcpacac. Qn ceo bliaDain Do ITlacha
hi pije nGpeann lap neg Do Ciombaoc mic pioncamn.

1 To a woman — " She, soon after her father's
death, challenged her father's part of the king-
dom, due unto her as her proper right, which
was denied her by Dihorba and King Kimboye,
saying that it was unfit that a woman should
govern the kingdom where the issue male had
not failed, and that it was never seen before.
Whereupon she challenged them both to yeald
her battle, which they were ready to do, and
did accordingly, where King Kimboye was
overthrown, and King Dihorba slain. Then she
took upon herself the government as Queen,"
&c. — Annals of Clonmacnoise.

The same chronicle gives a long legend about
the manner in which Queen Macha took, fet-
tered, and led captive into Ulster the five sons
of King Dithorba, who afterwards erected the
rath of Eamhain Macha. The same story is
also given by Keating; but O'Flaherty (Ogygia,
part iii. c. 36) rejects as fabulous the captivity
of the sons of Dithorba, and their having built

Eamhain-Macha, or Emania, in atonement for
their crimes and for the recovery of their liberty.
He says that Cimbaeth was the first founder of
Emania, and the first who resided there. Tigher-
nach, who died in the year 1088, and who is the
most accurate of the Irish annalists, states that
all the monuments of the Scoti, to the time of
Cimbaeth, are uncertain. " Omnia monumenta
Scotorum usque Cimbaeth incerta erant." With
this O'Flaherty agrees, and he has shewn in the
second part of his Ogygia that the periods of the
Ulster kings, from Cimbaeth to the destruction
of Emania, are supported by accurate records ;
but he confesses that the period preceding the
reign of Cimbaeth is not so supported — See
O'Conor's Prolegom. ad Annales, pp. xxxviii.
xlvii. Ixv. xcviii. and cii.

u Eamhain — Usually latinized Emania, now
corrupted in English to the Navan Fort (from
the Irish an 6uriiain), a very large rath, situated
about two miles to the west of Armagh. — See

4.533.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

73

the sovereignty of Ireland for the third time, Macha, daughter of Aedh Ruadh,
son of Badharn, said that her father's turn to the sovereignty was her's.
Dithorba and Cimbaeth said that they would not give the sovereignty to a
woman'. A battle was fought between them ; Macha defeated them, and ex-
pelled Dithorba, with his sons, into Connaught, so that he was slain in Corann.
She afterwards took to her Cimbaeth as husband, and gave him the sovereignty.
She afterwards proceeded alone into Connaught, and brought the sons of
Dithorba with her in fetters to Ulster, by virtue of her strength, and placed
them in great servitude, until they should erect the fort of Eamhain", that it
might always be the chief city of Uladh [Ulster].

The Age of the World, 4533. The first year of Cimbaeth in the sove-
reignty of Ireland, after Macha had taken him to her as husband".

The Age of the World, 4539. Cimbaeth, son of Fintan, having been seven
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, after he had been taken to her [as husband]
by Macha, died at Eamhain-Macha. This Cimbaeth was the first king of
Earahain.

The Age of the World, 4540. The first year of Macha in the sovereignty
of Ireland, after the death of Cimbaeth, son of Fintan.

note ', under the year 1387. It is stated in
Cormac's Glossary, and in various other au-
thorities, that Eamhain was so called because
Macha described the outline of the rath by the
eo, or pin, which fastened her cloak. Keating's
derivation of it is translated by Dr. Lynch as
follows :

" Ilia" [Macha] " aurea fibula quse tegmen
extimum circa collum astringebat, extracta,
Falatii aream dimensa est et descripsit. Illi"
[Dithorbi filii] " opus aggressi Palatium ex-
truxerunt Eomhuin-Machain appellatum quasi
subulam colli Macha? : eo enim subula, et muin,
collum significat."

The following remark on the date of the erec-
tion and period of the destruction of this fort is
given in Mageoghegan's translation of the An-
nals of Clonmacnoise; but the Editor cannot
say whether it is an interpolation of the trans-

lator's, or a remark by the original compiler of
the Chronicle :

" In the same (Rath), she (Macha) and the
Kings of Ulster, her successors, kept their pal-
lace and place of residence for the space of 855
years after. It was built 450 years before the
birth of Jesus Christ, and was rased and broken
down again for spight to Clanna-Eowrie by the
three brothers, Three Collas, sons of Eochie
Dowlen, who was son of King Carbry Liffe-
char."

w As husband. — Dr. O'Conor has the following
short entry, which he says is inserted in a more
modern hand in the Stowe copy :

"Goip oorhcun, ceirpi mile cuij ceo rpio-
chac a hocr. Q p6 o° Cimbaor. Remap
agup oe'jpollariinacc Chimbaor pop Gpe
uile."

" The Age of the World, 4538. The sixth of

74

[4546.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cuig ceo cfcpacac ape. lap mbfic peachc
mblia&na hi pi£e nGpeann Do TTlacha monjpuaiD, injfn Qoba RuaiD, mic
6a6aipn, Oocfp la ReachcaiD Rigofpcc, mac tuijDeach. dp hi TTlacha po
popail pop macoib Oiocopba (lap na ccabaipc po oaoipe) Raich Gamna Do
claiDe, jomab pi ppiomcacaip UlaD DO £pfp, amail po pempaiDpfm, -| ba he
Ciombaoc-| TTlacha po oil Ujaine TTlop.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cuig ceD cfcpacac a peachc. Cfn ceo bliabam
DO Reachcaib RijDfpcc, mac CuijDeach, hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile cuig ceO peapccac ape. lap mbfic piche
bliabam i pije nGpeann Do ReachcaiD Rijofpcc, mac Cuijbeac, Do pochaip
la hUjame TTlop a nDiojail a buime .1. TTlaca TTlonspuaD.

Ctoip Domain, cficpe mile cuig ceo peapccac a peachc. Qn ceD bliaDam
DUjhame TTlop, mac Gachach buabaigh, hi pije nGpeann innpin.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pe ceD ape. 1 ppopcfno na bliaDna po, lap
mbfic cfcpacac bliaDam comlan oUjaine mop na pfj Gpeann i mpcoip
Goppa 50 hiomlan 50 muip Uoippian, Do pochaip la baDbchab, i cUealac

Cimbaeth. The rule and good government of
Cimbaeth over all Ireland."

x That fostered Ugaine Nor. — " Owgany More,
son of Eochie Bwaye, who in and from his
childhood was nourished and fostered by King
Kimboye and Queen Macha, as well as if he had
been their own natural child." — Annals ofClon-
macnoise. To this the translator adds the fol-
lowing note :

" The manner in those days was to bring up
noblemen's children, especially their friends, in
princes and great men's houses, and for ever after
would call them fosterers, and love them as well
as their own natural father."

' Eeachtaidh Righdhearg : L e. Keachtaidh of
the Bed Wrist. " Righ enim carpum, et dearg
rubrum significat." — Lynch. " Rij signifies
the ulna. lp uttne jjoipreap Reaccaij Rij-
oeapg oe .1. bun pij oeapj DO Bi aije." —
Keating.

' Ugaine Mor Flann synchronizes Ugaine

Mor with Ptolomaeus Lagides See Doctor

O'Conor's Prolegom. ad Annales, p. xlviii. The
Annals of Clonmacnoise state : " About this
time the monarchy of the Assyrians was de-
stroyed by Arbatus, and translated over to the
Medes." The same annals, as well as the
O'Clerys, in the Leabhar Gabhala, and also
Keating and O'Flaherty, state that this mo-
narch had twenty-two sons and three daughters,
among whom he divided Ireland into twenty-five
parts, a division which continued for three hun-
dred years afterwards, " when the kings of the
provinces almost quenched the renown thereof."
The names of these territories, and of the chil-
dren of Ugaine to whom they were allotted, are
given with some variations in our ancient ma-
nuscripts, but the following seems the most
correct: 1. Breagh, or Bregia, to Cobhthach
Gael ; 2. Muirtheimhne, in the now county of
Louth, to Cobhthach Minn ; 3. to Laeghaire
Lore, the lands about the Eiver Liffey, in Lein-
ster ; 4. Magh-Fea, in the now county of Carlow,
to Fuilne; 5. Magh-Nair, to Nar; 6. Magh-

4546.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 75

. The Age of the World, 4546. Macha Mongruadh, daughter of Aedh
Euadh, son of Badharn, after she had been seven years in the sovereignty of
Ireland, was slain by Reachtaidh Righdhearg, son of Lughaidh. It was Macha
that commanded the sons of Dithorba (after bringing them into servitude)
to erect the fort of Eamhain, that it might be the chief city of Ulster for
ever, as we have said before ; and it was Cimbaeth and Macha that fostered
Ugaine Mor*.

The Age of the World, 4547. The first year of Reachtaidh Righdheargy,
son of Lughaidh, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4566. Reachtaidh Righdhearg, son of Lughaidh,
after having been twenty years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Ugaine
Mor, in revenge of his foster-mother, i. e. Macha Mongruadh.

The Age of the World, 4567. This was the first year of Ugaine Mor2, son
of Eochaidh Buadhach, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4606. At the end of this year Ugaine Mor, after he
had been full forty years king of Ireland, and of the whole of the west of Europe,
as far as Muir-Toirriana, was slain by Badhbhchadh, at Tealach-an-chosgairb, in

Raighne, in Ossory, to Raighne ; 7. Magh-Nairbh, his daughter Aeife or Eva ; and Magh-Muirisce,

to Narbh; 8. Aigeatross, on the River Nore, to in the now county of Mayo, to his daughter Mui-

Cinga; 9. Magh-Tarra, to Tair; 10. Treitherne, rise. Of all these sons of Ugaine Mor only two

to Triath ; 1 1 . Luachair-Deaghaidh, in Kerry, to left issue, namely, Cobhthach Cael and Laegh-

Sen; 12. Cluain-Corca-Oiche, inUi-Fidhgheinte, aire Lore, from whom all that survive of the

to Bard; 13. The southern Deisi, to Fergus Gnoi; race of Heremon are descended See Keating's

14. Aidhne, in the diocese of Kilmacduagh, to History of Ireland, Haliday's edition, p. 348.

Orb; 15.Moenmhagh, in Clanrickard, in the now " Muir-Toirrian O'Flaherty understands

county of Gal way, to Moen; 16. Magh-Aei, in this to mean the Mediterranean sea. — See
the now county of Roscommon, to Sanbh ; 17. Ogygia, part iii. c. 39; but Mageoghegan, in
Cliu-Mail, to Muireadhach Mai ; 18. Seolmhagh, Annales of Clonmacnoise, renders it Tyrrhian,
now the barony of Clare, county of Galway, to by which he means that part of the former wash-
£ochaidh ; 1 9. Latharna, in the county of An- ing Tuscany. Keating uses the term, through-
trim, to Latham; 20. Midhe, to Marc; 21. Line, out his History of Ireland, to denote the Medi-
or Magh-Line, county of Antrim, to Laegh ; terranean sea — See Haliday's edition, pp. 256,
22. Corann, in the now county of Sligo, to 258.

Cairbre ; 23. Magh- Ailbhe, in the present county b Tealach-an-chosgair: i. e. the Hill of the Vic-

of Kildare, to his daughter Ailbhe ; 24. Magh- tory. O'Flaherty (ubi supra) states that he was

Aeife, otherwise called Magh- Feimheann, now slain on the banks of the Boyne, at a place which

Iffa and Ofia East, in the county of Tipperary, to he calls Kill-Droicheat.

L2

76

emeaww.

[4607-

an cop5aip i TTIaij TTluipeaDa i mbpfgoib. dp e an cUjaine pin po
pacha na nuile Dul aicpibe -\ nfmaicpiDe pop piopa Gpeann 50 coiccfnD,
lomcopnam im pijje n6peann ppia a cloinn 50 bpdch na ppia piol bfop.

baobchao, mac GachDach buabaij, mp nUghaine TTlop Id 50 Ific ipn
pije, 50 pop mapb Lao^aipe Cope, mac Ujame, a noiojail a acap.

Cloip Domain, cficpe mile pe ceo apeachc. Qn ceo bliabain Do Laojaipe
Lope, mac Ujame TTlhoip, hi pije nGpeann innpin.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pe ceD a hochc. lap mbfic Da bliaDain hi pije
nGpeann DO Laojaipe Lope, mac Ughaine, DO pochaip la Cobchac Caol
mbpfjh hi cCapman.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pe ceo anaoi. Qn ceo bliaDain Do Cobcach
Caol bhpfj hi pije nGpeann inDpin.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pe ceo caogac a hochc. lap mbfic caojacc
bliaDain i pije nGpeann Do Cobcach Caol bpfj, mac Ujame TTlhoip, DO
pocaip la Labpaio Lomgpeac, TTlaen mac Oiliolla Cline, co ccpiochaiD
ime hi nOionn pij pop bpu bfpba.

c Oaths See Battle ofMagh Bath, p. 3, and

Petrie's Antiquities of Tar a, Hill, p. 10, for a
fuller account of this pagan oath exacted by
Ugaine from the Irish chieftains.

d Was killed. — Keating tells a horrible story of
the treacherous manner in which Cobhthach con-
trived the murder of Laeghaire Lore or Laegh-
aire the Murderer, and of the manner in which
Maen, afterwards called Labhraidh Loingseach,
was treated by him; but the Irish Annals are
silent about these details, and, therefore, we
must regard Keating's story as a poetical in-
vention.

e Dinn-righ — See note under A. M. 3267.
In a fragment of the Annals of Tighernach,
preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford,
Eawlinson, 502, fol. 1, b. col. 1, this fact is also
mentioned, and the place is called Dinn-Righ in
Magh-Ailbhe, and the house or palace Bruidhin
Tuama-Teanbath. The Annals of Clonmacnoise
also mention this burning of " Cobhthach, toge-
ther with thirty Irish princes, on the Barrowe

side, at a place called Dinrye."

Keating tells a romantic story of the flight of
Moen, or Labhraidh, to France, and of the man-
ner in which he was induced to return to Ire-
land by the lady Moriat, daughter of Scoriat,
prince of Corcaguiny, in Kerry (now the name
of a river in that territory). According to this
story, Labhraidh returned to Ireland with a
force of 2200 men, who brought with them a
kind of broad-headed lance or javelin, called
laijne, from which the province of Leinster,
which had been previously called Gailian, re-
ceived the appellation of Laighin. With these
he landed in the harbour of Wexford, whence
he marched to Dinn-righ, on the Kiver Barrow,
near Leighlin, where he rushed into the palace,
put the king and thirty of his nobility to the
sword, and set the palace on fire, &c.

This story, which savours very strongly of
romance, is differently told in the Annals of
Clonmacnoise, as translated by Mageoghegan,
as follows:

4607-] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 77

Magh-Muireadha, in Bregia. This Ugaine was he who exacted oathsc, by all
the elements visible and invisible, from the men of Ireland in general, that they
would never contend for the sovereignty of Ireland with his children or his
race.

Badhbhchadh, son of Eochaidh Buadhach, was for a day and a half after
Ugaine in the sovereignty of Ireland, when Laeghaire Lore, son of Ugaine,
slew him, in revenge of his father.

The Age of the World, 4607. This was the first year of Laeghaire Lore,
son of Ugaine Mor, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4608. Laeghaire Lore, son of Ugaine, after having
been two years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was killed" by Cobhthach Gael
Breagh, at Carman (Wexford).

The Age of the World, 4609. This was the first year of Cobhthach Gael
Breagh in the monarchy of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4658. Cobhthach Gael Breagh, son of Ugaine,
after having been fifty years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Labhraidh
Loingseach, [i. e.] Maen, son of Oilioll Aine, with thirty kings about him, at
Dinn-righe, on the brink of the Bearbha.

" Also the said Covhagh slew Oilill Anye, son reigned 17 years. King Covhagh had little care,

of the said King Logery, after which foul fact of the Irish proverb, which is, that ' one should

done, Lawry Longseach," [great] " grandchild never trust a reconciled adversary.' This murther

of king Owgany, and" [grand] " son of Logery was committed on the Barrowe side, at a place

Lork, was banished by him, who remained many called Dinrye or Deannrye, and divers of the

years beyond seas, seeking to bring into this nobility were there murthered as aforesaid,
land foreigners to invade it ; and, in the end, " Some say that the city of Roome was

after long banishment, his great uncle, the king founded about the beginning of this precedent

of Ireland, made friendship with him, and be- king's reign.

stowed upon him and his heirs, for ever, the " Finncha mac Baiceadha reigned then in

province of Lynster, since which time there Eawyn-Macha, as king of Ulster,
hath been mortal hatred, strife, and debate, be- " Lawry Loyngseagh, after thus murthering

tween those of the province of Connaught, his uncle, succeeded as king of the kingdom.

Ulster, and Lynster, the one descending of The province of Lynster took the name of him"

King Covhagh, and the other of his brother, [recte, in his time], "for in the time of his ba-

•King Logery Lork. King Covhagh was invited nishment he brought divers foreigners into this

to a feast by his said nephew, Lawrey, and there land that were armed with a kind of weapons

was treacherously burnt, together with thirty which they brought with them, like pykes or

Irish princes, in his own house, after he had spears, which, in Irish, were called Layny, and

aNNQ6a Rioghachca eiReaww. [4659-

78

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pe ceo caogac anaoi. Qn ceo bliabain Do Lab-
paib Loingpeac hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pe ceD pfchcmojac apeacc. lap mbfic naoi
mbliabna oecc DO Labpaib Loingpeac, TTlaen mac Oiliolla Qine, mic Laojaipe
Luipc, micUjameTTloip, i pije nGpeann DO pocaip la TTlelje TYlolbrac, mac
Cobcaijh Caoil bpfgh.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pe ceo peachcmojac a hochc. Qn ceo
bliaDain Do ITlelje TTIolbcac, mac Cobcaic Chaoil 6pf£, hi pije n6peann
innpin.

Qoip Domain, cfirpe mile pe ceD nochac a cfcaip. lap mbfic peachc
mbliaona 065 hi pije n6peann Do TTlelje TTIolbcac, mac Cobcaigh Caoil
bpfjh, DO cfp i ccac Claipe la TTlobcopb. Qn can po clap a peapc ap ann
po meabam Loch TTlelje po cfp hi cCoipbpe, comb uaba ainmnijcfp.

Ctoip Domain, cficpe mile pe ceD nochac a cuig. Qn ceo bliabam DO
TTlobcopb mac Cobcaigh Caoim, hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile peachc cceo a haon. lap mbfic peachc
mbliabna hi pije nGpeann Do TTlobcopb mac Cobcaigh Caoim Do pocaip la
hQenjap Ollam.

Ctoip Domain, cficpe mile peachc cceo, aoo. Qn ceo bliabam oQengup
Ollam, mac Oiliolla, mic Cabpaba, hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile pechc cceo anaoi 065. Q hocc Decc oQengup
Ollam mac Oiliolla, mic Cabpaba, 50 ccopcaip la hlpepeo, mac TPelje, i
bpoipcfno na pee hipin.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pfchc ceo piche. Qn ceio bbabam olpepeo,
mac TTlelge TTlolbcaijh, hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pfchc ceo piche ape. lap mbeic pfcc mbliabna

were never before used in Ireland, of whom the h Loch Mdghe. — Now Lough Melvin, a beau-

Leynstermen and Leynster itself took the name, tiful lake situated on the confines of the counties

He reigned 14 years, and was slain by Melge, of Fermanagh, Leitrim, and Donegal __ See notes

son of King Couhagh. under A. D. 1421, 1455.

" Connor Moyle Mac Fuhie reigned then king ' Cairbre — Now the barony of Carbury, in

of Ulster twelve years." the county of Sligo. No part of Lough Melvin

f Seventeen years — " Meylge was king twelve now belongs to this barony.

years."— Annals of Clonmicnoise. " Seven years __ " Mocorb was king six years,

g Claire — See A.M. 4169- and was slain by Enos Ollowe. About this

4659-] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 79

The Age of the World, 4659. The first year of the reign of Labhraidh
Loingseach in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4677. Labhraidh Loingseach, [i. e.] Maen, son of
Oilioll Aine, son of Laeghaire Lore, son of Ugaine Mor, after having been nine-
teen years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain by Melghe Molbhthach, son
of Cobhthach Gael Breagh.

The Age of the World, 4678. This was the first year of Melghe Molbh-
thach, [the Praiseworthy] son of Cobhthach Gael Breagh, in the sovereignty
of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4694. Melghe Molbhthach, son of Cobhthach
Gael Breagh, after having been seventeen yearsf in the sovereignty of Ireland,
fell in the battle of Claire8, by Modhcorb. When his grave was digging,
Loch Melghe11 burst forth over the land in Cairbre', so that it was named from
him.

The Age of the World, 4695. The first year of Modhcorb, son of Cobh-
thach Caemh, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4701. Modhcorb, son of Cobhthach Caemh [the
Comely], after having been seven years" in the sovereignty of Ireland, was
slain by Aengus Ollamh.

The Age of the World, 4702. The first year of Aenghus Ollamh, son of
Labhraidh, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4719. The eighteenth1 [year] of Aenghus Ollamh,
son of Oilioll, son of Labhraidh ; and he was slain by Irereo, son of Melghe, at
the end of that time.

The Age of the World, 4720. The first year of Irereo, son of Melghe
Molbhthach, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4726. Irereo™, son of Melghe, after having been

time was born that famous poet of the Romans m Irereo. — Mac Curtiri and most manuscript

called Virgil, in a village called Andes, not far copies of Keating's History of Ireland, call this

from Mantua." monarch laranngleo Fathach, i. e. Iron-fight

1 Eighteenth. — " Enos was king seven years, the Cautious (i. e. suspicex — Lynch) ; but the

and at last was slain by Irero, son of Meylge, best copies of Keating and of the Leabhar-

near about the time Pompeius was overcome of Gabhala have Irereo. O'Flaherty has both

Julius Caesar, and driven to take his flight into forms. Flann synchronizes Modhcorb, Aenghus

Egypt." — Annals of Clonmacnoise. Ollamh, and Irereo, with Ptolemy Evergetes.

go aNNQGu uiufciiuijiiou. eiReaNN. [4727-

hi pige nGpeann olpepeo, mac TTlelje, DO pochaip la pfpcopb mac TTIoba

cuipb.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pfcc cceD piche apeache. Qn ceiD bliabam
Dpiopcopb, mac TTloba Cuipb, hi pije nGpionn.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile pfcc cceo epiocac a pfcc. lap mbeie en
bliabam 065 hi pije nGpionn opiop Copb Do pochaip la Connla Caom mac

Ipepeo.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile pfce cceD epiocac a hochc. Qn ceio bliabam
DO Connla Caom hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pfcc cceD caogac a pfcc. lap mbfic piche
bliabam hi pije nGpeann Do Conla Caom acbail i cUfmpaijj.

Qoip Domain, cficpe pfcc cceo caogac a hochc. Qn ceo bliabam DOilioll
Caippiaclach, mac Connla Caoim, hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pfcc cceo ochemojac aoo. lap mbfic cuig
bliabna pichfc hi pije nGpeann oOilill Caippiaclach, mac Connla Caoim,
mic Ipepeo, DO pochaip la hQoamap mic pipcuipb.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pfcc cceo ochcmojac a cpi. Qn ceo bliabam
oQoamap mac pipcuipb, op Gpinn.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pfcc ceo ochcmojae apfcc. Qn cuijeab bliab-
am oQoamap, mac pipcuipb, hi pijhe nGpeann, 50 ccopcaip la hGochaiD
nQilclfean.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile pfcc cceD ochcmojac a hochc. Qn ceio
bliabam oGochaib Qilclfchan hi pijhe op Gpmn.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile ochc ceo a cfcaip. lap mbfic peachc mbliabna
oecc hi pije uap Gpinn oGochaib Qilclfchan, mac Oiliolla Caippiaclaich, Do
pochaip la pfpjup popcamail.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile ochc ceo a cui5. Qn ceo bliabam opfpjup
popcamail, mac bpfpail bpic, hi pij nGpeann.

The Annals of Clonmacnoise give Irereo a reign then quietly died in the pallace of Taragh."

of only six years. — Annals of Clonmacnoise. Keating calls this

n Eleven years. — " Fearcorb was king seven monarch Connla Cruaidhchealgach, i. e. Connla,

years." — Annals of Clonmacnoise. the Hardy-treacherous. Flann synchronizes the

0 Connla Caemh: i. e. Connla the Comely. Irish monarchs, Fearcorb and Connla, with

" Conley Keywe, alias the Fine, succeeded in Ptolemy Philopater.

the government of the kingdom four years, and p Oilioll Caisfhiadach : i. e. Oilioll of the bent

4727.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 81

seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain by Fearcorb, son of Modh-
corb.

The Age of the World, 4727. The first year of Fearcorb, son of Modh-
corb, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4737. After Fearcorb had been eleven years" in
the sovereignty of Ireland, he was slain by Connla Caemh, son of Irereo.

The Age of the World, 4738. The first year of Connla Caemh in the
sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4757. Connla Caemh0, after having been twenty
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, died at Teamhair [Tara].

The Age of the World, 4758. The first year of Oilioll Caisfhiaclach", son
of Connla Caemh, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4782. After Oilioll Caisfhiaclach, son of Connla
Caemh, son of Irereo, had been twenty-five years" in the sovereignty of Ireland,
he was slain by Adamair, son of Fearcorb.

The Age of the World, 4783. The first year of Adamair, son of Fearcorb,
over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4787. The fifth year' of Adamair, son of Fear-
corb, in the sovereignty of Ireland, when he was slain by Eochaidh Ailtleathan.

The Age of the World, 4788. The first year of Eochaidh Ailtleathan in
the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4804. After Eochaidh Ailtleathan', son of Oilioll
Caisfhiaclach, had been seventeen years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he was
slain by Fearghus Fortamhail.

The Age of the World, 4805. The first year of Fearghus Fortamhail, son
of Breasal Breac, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

or crooked Teeth. " Olillus Casfhiaclach, id est, id est tenuis cincinni," by Lynch. Flann syn-

rugonim dentium." — Lynch, chronizes Adamair and Eochaidh Foltleathan

q Twenty-fine years " Oilell reigned twenty- with Ptolemy Epiphanes.

five years, and was at last slain by Adamar." — s Eochaidh Ailtleathan: i. e. Eochaidh of the

Annals of Clonmacnoise. Broad Joints, or of the Broad House. Keating

' The fifth year. — " Adamar was king five writes his cognomen Foltleathan, which is trans-
years, and was slain by Eochy Altleahan." — lated " promissi crinis" by Dr. Lynch. The
Annals of Clonmacnoise. He is called Adhamar Annals of Clonmacnoise give him a reign of only
Foltchaoin by Keating, and" AdamarusJFWtcAyn, seven years.

II

Rioshachca eineaNN. [4815.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile ochc ceo a cuig Decc. lap mbfic en bliaDain
Decc i pije nepeqnn opeapgup popcamail, macbpfpail bpic, DO pochaip la
Uuipmfch hi ccac Ceampach.

Qoip Domain, cfirpe mile ochc cceD ape Decc. Qn ceD bliaDain oQengup
Cuipmeach Ueampach hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile ochc cceo peachcmojac acuij. lap mbfic
pfpccac bliaDain hi pije nGpeann oQengup Cuipmeach Cfrhpach acbail hi
cUeampnis- Cfonjup Uuipmeach DO jaipm De, ap ap cuicce cuipmiDcheap
paop clanna Sil nGipeamom.

doiy Domain, cfirpe mile ochc cceD pfccmojac ape. dn ceD bliaoam
DO Conall Collampach, mac Gcepfceoil, na pij op Gpinn.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile ochc cceD ochcmojac. lap mbfic cuig bliaDna
hi pije nGpeann DO Conall Collampac, mac Gceppceoil Ufrhpach, mic 6ac-
ach Qilclfcan, Do pochaip la Nia SeDamam.

Ctoip Domain, cficpe mile ochc cceD ochcmojac ahaon. Qn ceiD bliaoain
DO Nia Sebamam, mac Q6amaip, hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile ochc cceo ochcmojac apfchc. lap mbfic
pfchc mbliaona hi pije nGpeann DO Nia SeDamam, macQDamaip,Do pochaip
la hGnna Qijneach. Ctp a naimpip an pi'j NiaD Sfoamam Do blighcea ba
1 ellce po aencoma.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile ochc cceD ochcmojac ahochc. Qn ceiD
bliaDain oGnna Qi^neach op Gpinn.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile naoi cceD a pfchc. lap mbfic piche bliaDain

' Fearghus Fortamhail: i. e. Fergus the Pow- dictus est." — Lynch. The Four Masters, O'Fla-
erful or Brave. " Qui, quod eximia fortitudine herty, and Dr. O'Conor, derive the name differ-
pro ilia tempestate prsecelleret, Fortamhail, id ently, namely, from cuipmeac, prolific, because
est, Strenuus, cognominatus est." — Lynch. The he is the common ancestor of the great families
Annals of Clonmacnoise give Enos Fortawyle a of Leath-Chuinn, Alba or Scotland, Dal-Kiada,
reign of twelve years. Flann synchronizes him and Dal-Fiatach — See Ogygia, iii. c. 40. The
with Ptolemy Philometer. Annals of Clonmacnoise make no allusion to

u Aenghus Tuirmheach. — Keating, and from Fiacha Fearmara being an incestuous offspring,

him Dr. Lynch, explains Tuirmheach, the cog- but speak of Enos Twyrmeach and his two sons

nomen of this monarch, by ndipeac, i. e. " Pudi- as follows :

bundus, quia pudore suffundereter, quod prolem " Enos succeeded, and was a very good king.

ex filia ebrius susceperit ; films ex hoc incesto He left issue two goodly and noble sons, Enna

coitu genitus Fiachus Fermara, id est, marinus Ayneagh and Fiagha Ferwara. The most part

4815.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 83

The Age of the World, 4815. FearghusFortamhail'.sonof Breasal Breac,
after having been eleven years in the monarchy of Ireland, was slain by Aenghus
Tuinnheach in the battle of Teamhair [Tara].

The Age of the World, 4816. The first year of the reign of Aenghus
Tuirmheach Teamhrach in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4875. Aengus Tuirmheach Teamhrach, after
having been sixty years in the monarchy of Ireland, died at Teamhair. He
was called Aenghus Tuirmheach" because the nobility of the race of Eireamhon
are traced to him.

The Age of the World, 4876. The first year of Conall Collamhrach, son
of Ederscel, as king over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4880. Conall Collamhrach, son of Ederscel
Teamhrah, son of Eochaidh Ailtleathan, after having been five years™ in the
sovereignty of Ireland, was slain by Nia Sedhamain.

The Age of the World, 4881. The first year of Nia Sedhamain, son of
Adhamair, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4887. Nia Sedhamain, son of Adhamair, after
having been seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain by Enna Aigh-
neach. It was in the time of the King Nia Sedhamain that the cows and the
does1 were alike milked.

The Age of the World, 4888. The first year of Enna Aighneach over
Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4907. Enna Aighneach7, son of Aenghus Tuir-

of the kings of Ireland descended of his son lamrach by the Latin Columnaris.
Enna, and the kings of Scotland, for the most x The does. — The cognomen of this monarch

part, descended of Fiagha, so as the great has reference to the milking of the peaoa, reaja

houses of both kingdoms derive their pedigrees or hinds, said to have been effected through the

from them. He was of the sept of Heremon, incantations of his mother. " Mater ejus, Flidh-

and reigned 32 years, and then died quietly at isa, sic fascinandi arte fuit instructa, ut filio regi

Taragh, in his bed." feras damas effecerit non secus ac cicures vaccas,

w Five years. — The Annals of Clonmacnoise se mulgendas lactariis ultro prsebere." — Lynch.
agree with the Four Masters in the regnal years JEnna Aighneach. — Anglicised Enna Ayneagh

of this and the next reign. Flann synchronises by Mageoghegan in the Annals of Clonmacnoise,

Aengus Tuirmeach, Conall Collamhrach, Nia in which he is given a reign of only ten years.

Sedhamain, and Enna Aighneach, with Ptolemy The cognomen Aighneach is explained 05-

Evergetes-Physcon. O'Flaherty translates Col- oineac, i. e. perfect hospitality, by Keating.

M2

84 cmNata Rioshachca emeaNN. [4908.

hi jiije nGpeann DGnna Qignfch, mac Qonjapa Cuipmij Cfmpac, DO pocaip
la Cpiomchann Copccpach In ccac CCipD Cpemcamn.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile naoi cceo a hochc. Qn cem bliaDam Do
Cpiomhcann Copccpach, mac pelimm, mic pfpgupa popcamail, hi pije

nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile naoi ceo a haon noecc. lap mbfic cficpe
bliaDna hi pije nGpeann DO Cpiorhcann Copccpac Do pochaip la RuDpuije,
mac Sicpijhe.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile naoi cceo a Do Decc. Qn ceiD bliaDam DO
Ruopuije, mac Sicpi^he, hi pi^he nGpeann.

Ctoif Dorilain, ceicpe mile naoi cceD ochcmojar a haon. lap mbfic pfcc-
mojac bliaDam hi pije nGpeann Do ftuDpmje, mac Sicpighe, mic Ouib mic
pomoip, mic Qipsfcmaip, aobail i nQipsfcglionD. Qp lap an Rubpuije pi
po meabpac na cacha po po Gipino. Cach Cuipce, each Luachpa, peachc
ccaca hi cCliu, each 5^earlDamriacl1) cacl1 s^ibe TTlip, each boipne, each
T?en, each Cfi, cac Cuile SilinDe, Da each popcpaipcc.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile naoi cceD ochcmojac a Do. Ctn ceiD bliaDam
Dlonoaomap, mac Nia SeDamain, hi pi^e op Gpinn.

Qoip Domain, ceicpe mile naoi cceo nochac. lap mbfic naoi mbliaDria
hi pi£e nGpeann olonnacmap, mac Nia SeDamain, Do pochaip la bpeapal
boioiobab, mac Ru&puije.

Qoip Domain, cficpe mile naoi ceo nocha a haon. Cfn ceiD bliaDam Do
bpfpal boiDiobaDh i pighe nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cuig mile a haon. lap mbfic en bliaDam Decc na pijh op
Gpmn Dobpeapalboioiobaoh, mac l?u&puije,oo pochaip la LughaiD Luaighne.
boap mop i nGpinn hi pfimiup bpfpail.

z Crimfithann Cosgrach: i. e. Crimhthann the liudbraighe ?o long a reign as seventy years.

Triumphant or Victorious. " Cosgrach, id est, b Airgeat-gleann: i. e. the silver glen or valley,

victor, ideo cognominatus, quod in quam pluri- This was the name of a glen in the barony of

mis praeliis victoriam reportaverit." — Lynch. Farney, in the county of Monaghan.

a Seventy years. — The Annals of Clonmacnoise cCuirce. — A place in the territory of Ciaraighe-

and most Irish authorities agree in this. Flann Chuirche, now anglice the barony of Kerrycur-

synchronizes Crimhthann Cosgrach, Eudhraighe, rihy, in the county of Cork.

Innatmar, Breasal, and Lughaidh Luaighne, d Luachair: i. e. Sliabh Luachra in Kerry,

with Ptolemy Lathirus, and Ptolemy Alexander, e Cliu: i. e. Cliu-Mail, a district in the ba-

from which it appears that he did not give rony of Coshlea, and county of Limerick See

4908.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. &5

meach Teamhrach, after having been twenty years in the sovereignty of Ireland,
was slain by Crimhthann Cosgrach, in the battle of Ard-Crimhthainn.

The Age of the World, 4908. The first year of Crimhthann Cosgrach,
son of Feidhlimidh, son of Fearghus Fortamhail, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4911. Crimhthann Cosgrach2, after having been
four years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain by Rudhraighe, son of
Sithrighe.

The Age of the World, 4912. The first year of Rudhraighe, son of Sith-
righe, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4981. Rudhraighe, son of Sithrighe, son of Dubh,
son of Fomhor, son of Airgeatmar, after having been seventy yearsa in the sove-
reignty of Ireland, died at Airgeat-gleannb. It was by this Rudghraighe that
these battles were won throughout Ireland : the battle of Cuircec; the battle
of Luachair"; seven battles in Cliue; the battle of Gleannamhnacl/ ; the battle
ofSHabhMis8; the battle of Boirinn11; the battle of Ren1; the battle of Aik;
the battle of Cuil-Silinne1 ; the two battles of Fortrascra.

The Age of the World, 4982. The first year of Innatmar, son of Nia
Sedhamain, in sovereignty over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 4990. Innatmar, son of Nia Sedhamain, after
having been nine years" in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain by Breasal
Boidhiobadh, son of Rudraighe.

The Age of the World, 4991. The first year of Breasal Boidhiobhadh in
the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 5001. Breasal Boidhiobhadh, son of Rudhraighe,
after having been eleven years king over Ireland, was slain by Lughaidh
Luaighne. There was a great mortality of kine° in Ireland in Breasal's reign.

A. M. 4981, and A. D. 1570. common See note under A. D. 1 189-

' Gleannamhnach — Now Glanworth, in the 'Cuil-Silinne. — This was the ancient name of

barony of Fermoy, and county of Cork. the place where the church of Cill-Cuile-Silinne,

s Slidbh Mis — Now Slieve Mish, a mountain now Kilcooley, in the barony and county of

near Tralee in Kerry. — See A. M. 3500. Roscommon, was afterwards erected — See A. D.

h Boirinn: i.e. Burren, in the north of the 1411, and Appendix, p. 2495.

county of Clare See A. M. 4981. m Fortrasc Not identified.

' Ren — This is probably intended for Magh- n Nine years — The Annals of Clonmacnoise

Rein, a plain in county of Leitrim. give this monarch a reign of only three years.

k Ai: i.e. of Magh Ai, in the county of Ros- ° Mortality ofkine. — From this moTtality he

Rioghachca eiReawN. [5002.

Cloip Domain, cuicc mile a DO. Qn ceiD bliaDain Do Cughaib Luaighne,
mac lonDacmaip, hi pije nGpeann.

Cloip Domain, cuicc mile a pe Decc. Qn cuigeao bliabain Decc Do Lushaib
Luaijne, mac lonDacmaip, hi pi£e nGpeann, 50 ccopcaip la Conjal Clap-
oinfch, mac RuDpuije.

Qoip Domain, cuig mile a pfchc Decc. Qn ceD bliaDain Do Congal
Clapoineach hi pije nGpeann.

Ctoip Domain, cuig mile cpiocha a haon. lap mbfic cuij bliabna Decc
hi pije nGpeann ooCongalClapomfc, mac RuDpuije, Do pochaip la Ouach
Dallna Oeabaoh.

Qoip Domain, cuig mile cpiocha a DO. Ctn ceiD bliaDain DO Ouach Oallca
DeaohaD, mac Caipbpe Cuipcc, hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, 6615 mile cfcpacha a haon. lap ccaicfm Deich mblia&on
hi pije nGpeann Do Ouach Oallca Oeaoab, mac Caipbpe^Luifcc, Do pocaip
la pachcna pachach.

Ctoip Domain, cuig mile cftpacha a Do. Qn ceiD bliaDain Dphachcna
pachach hi pi£e nGpeann.

Ctoip Domain, cuig mile caoga a pfcc. lap mbfic pe bliabna Decc
Dpachcna pacac, mac T?opa, mic RuDpuije, hi pije nGpeann Do ceap la
hGochaiD ppeolech.

Qoip Domain, cuij mile caoga a hochc. Ctn ceiD bliaDain DGochaiD
peiDleach hi pighe op Gpinn.

received his cognomen of Bodhiobhadh. "Breas- q Congal Claroineach: i.e. Congal of the Flat

sail Bodivo was king ten years. In his time Face. He is more usually called Clair-ingneach,

there was such a morren" [murrain] " of cowes i. e. of the Broad Nails. " He did many notable

in this land as there were no more then left acts of chivalry, as there are great volumes of

alive but one Bull and one Heiffer in the whole history written of his hardiness and manhood,

kingdom, which Bull and Heiffer lived in a He was slain by Duach Dalta Dea when he had

place called Gleann Sawasge." — Annals ofClon- reigned fifteen years." — Annals of Clonmacnoise,

macnoise. Gleann Samhaisg, or Glen of the Heifer, Flann synchronizes Congal Clairingneach with

is the name of a remarkable valley in the county Ptolemy Dionysius.

of Kerry, where this tradition is still vividly r Duach Dalta Deaghaidh, — Keating states
remembered. that he was so called because he blinded his
p Lughaidh Luaighne. — " Loway mac lonamar younger brother, Deaghaidh, lest he might as-
reigned 25" [recte 15] "years, and was slain by pire to the sovereignty; but O'Flaherty shews,
Congal Clareingneach." — Annals of Clonmac- from the Book of Lecan, fol. 203, o, and from
noise. O'Duvegan's Book, fol. 81, a, and from Gilla-

5002.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 87

The Age of the World, 5002. The first year of the reign of Lughaidh
Luaighne, son of Innatmar, in the monarchy of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 5016. The fifteenth year of Lughaidh Luaighnep,
son of Innatmar, in the sovereignty of Ireland, when he fell by Congal Cla-
roineach, son of Rudhraighe.

The Age of the World, 5017. The first year of Congal Claroineach in
the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 5031. Congal Claroineachq, son of Eudhraighe,
after having been fifteen years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain by Duach
Dallta Deadhadh.

The Age of the World, 5032. The first year of Duach Dallta Deadhadhr,
son of Cairbre Lusg, in the monarchy of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 5041. Duach Dallta Deadhadh, son of Cairbre
Lusg, after having been ten years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain by
Fachtna Fathach.

The Age of the World, 5042. The first year of Fachtna Fathach in the
sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 5057. Fachtna Fathach8, son of Rossa, son of
Hudhraighe, after having been sixteen years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was
slain by Eochaidh Feidhleach.

The Age of the World, 5058. The first year of Eochaidh Feidhleach1 in
the sovereignty over Ireland.

Caemhain's poem, written in the twelfth cen- or Wise. The Annals of Clonmacnoise give him

tury, that he had no brother of that name, but a-reign of twenty-four years, and Flann synchro-

that he was called Dalta Deaghaidh, i. e. the nises him with Cleopatra.

Alumnus or Foster-son of Deaghaidh, son of Sen, ' Eochaidh Feidhleach Keating explains

of the Ernaans of Munster See Ogygia, part iii. Feidkkach as " constant sighing." This mo-

c. 42 ; and also Dr. O'Conor's Prolegomena ad narch rescinded the division of Ireland into

Annales, p. xxiii. The Annals of Clonmacnoise twenty-five parts, which had been made three

give this monarch a reign of only seven years, centuries before his time by the monarch

and state that he " was slain by Faghtna Fagh- Ugaine Mor, and divided the kingdom into five

agh about the time that Julius Csesar was mur- provinces, over each of which he appointed a

dered in the senate by Brutus and Cassius." pentarch or provincial king, who was obedient

O'Flaherty adds (ubi supra) that he was slain and tributary to himself. These were: Fearghus,

in the battle of Ardbrestine. son of Leide, King of Uladh or Ulster; Deagh-

*~ Fachtna Fathach: i. e. Fachtna the Cautious aidh, son of Sen, and his relative Tighernach,

88 ctNNata Rio^hachca emeaMN. [5069-

doip Domain, 0615 mile peapcca a naoi. lap mbfic Da bliabam Decc hi
pi-rhe nGpeann oGochaib pfibleach, mac pino, mic pionDlojha, acbail i

rcfmpaij.

Ctoip Domain, cincc mile peachcmogac. Qn ceio bliabain DGochaib
CXipfm (ofpbpachaip Gachach pfiolij) hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cuicc mile ochcmojac a cfraip. lap ccaicfm 0615 mbliabna
noecc hi pije nGpeann oGochaib Qtpfm po loipcceab la Siojmall hi

amo.

Qoip Domain, cuicc mile ochcmojac a 0(115. ^n C^D bliabam
mac Gojain, mic Oiliolla, na pij op 6pinn.

Qoip Domain, cuig mile ochrmogac anaoi. lap ccocaicfm coicc mbliaDan
hi pijhe nGpeann oGoeppcel, mac Gojain, mic Oiliolla, Do pochaip la
Nuaba Neachc, i nCtillino.

Qoip Domain, cuicc mile nochac. lap ccaicfm Ificbliabna hi pighe
nGpeann Do Nuaba Nfchc, mac Seona Sicbaicc, copcaip hi ccac Cliach i
nUib Opona la Conaipe TTlop. Leicbliabam complainp clomne Gimhip pmD
hi ccfnn na leic bliaban po Nuabac Nfcc comldnaijfp nochac ap cuig mile
bliabam i naoip Domain.

Qoip Domain, cuicc mile nocha a haon. Qn ceio bliabam oo Conaipe
TTlop, mac Gceppceoil, i pije nGpeann.

Tedbhannach, Kings of the two Munsters ; Eossa a ludicrous size in her fairy state,

lluadh, son of Fcarghus, King of Leinster; Oi- u Eochaidh Aireamh — Keating says that he

lioll, who was married to Meadhbh, the mo- received the cognomen of Aireamh, " the Grave-

narch's daughter, King of Connaught. Flann digger," because he was the first who had a

synchronises Fearghus, son of Leide, with Oc- grave dug in Ireland. " Aireamh ideo dictus,

tavianus Augustus See O'Flaherty's Ogygia, quod tumulos effodi primus in Hibernia cura-

part iii. c. 43. This monarch had three sons, verit." — Lynch.

Breas, Nar, and Lothar, commonly called the Contemporary with Eochaidh was Fearghus

three Finns of Eamhain; and six daughters, Mac Roich, King of Ulster, who being de-

Mumhain, Eile, Meadhbh, Deirdre, Clothra, and throned by Conchobhar Mac Nessa, fled to Con-

Eithne, of whom strange stories are told in an- naught, and placed himself under the protection

cient Irish manuscripts ; but of all his children of Oilioll and Meadhbh, king and queen of that

by far the most celebrated was Meadhbh or Mab, province, and, having procured their aid, he

who is still remembered as the queen of the commenced hostilities with Ulster, which were

fairies of the Irish, and the Queen Mab of Spen- vigorously carried on for seven years. This war

ser'sFaery Queen, in which this powerful virago, between Ulster and Connaught is described in

queen and quean of Connaught, is diminished to the Irish work called Tain Bo Cuailgne, and

5069-] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 89

The Age of the World, 5069. Eochaidh Feidhleach, son of Finn, son of
Finnlogha, after having been twelve years in the sovereignty of Ireland, died
at Teamhair [Tara].

The Age of the World, 5070. The first year of Eochaidh Aireamh (bro-
ther of Eochaidh Feidhleach) in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 5084. Eochaidh Aireamh11, after having been
fifteen years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was burned by Sighmall, at Freamh-
ainn".

The Age of the World, 5085. The first year of Ederscel, son of Oilioll,
as king over Ireland.

The Age of the World, 5089. Ederscel, son of Eoghan, son of Oilioll, after
having been five years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain byNuadhaNeacht,
at Aillinn*.

The Age of the World, 5090. Nuadha Neacht", son of Sedna Sithbhaic,
after having spent half a year in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell in the battle
of Cliach, in Ui Drona1, by Conaire Mor. The half year of the joint reign of
Clann-Eimhir-Finn, being added to this half year of Nuadha Neacht, completes
ninety and five thousand years of the age of the world.

The Age of the World, 5091. The first year of Conaire Mor, son of
Ederscel, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

other romantic tales, in which the extraordinary applied to a lofty hill rising over the western

valour of the heroes of the Craebh Ruadh, or shore of Loc Uaip, anglice Lough Owel, in the

Red Branch, in Ulster, and of the Firbolgic sept townland of Wattstown, parish of For tlemon,

of Connaught called the Gamanradians of Irras, and county of Westmeath. — See the Ordnance

are blazoned with poetical exaggerations. Among Map of that county, sheet 11. The Annals of

the former was Conall Cearnach, the ancestor of Clonmacnoise give this monarch a reign of

O'More, and Cuchullainn, called by the annalist twenty-five years. The Leabhar-Gabhala of the

Tigernach, " fortissimus heros Scotorum ;" and O'Clerys, p. 1 30, states that Sighmall dwelt at

among the latter was Ceat Mac Magach, the bro- Sidh-Neannta, which was the ancient name of

ther of Oilioll, King of Connaught, and Ferdia Mullaghshee, near Lanesborough, in the county

MacDamain, the bravest of the Firbolgic cham- ofRoscommon.

pions of Irras, who was slain by Cuchullainn in * Aillinn See A. M. 4169.

single combat.— See O'Flaherty's Ogygia, part y Nuadha Neacht : i. e. Nuadha the Snow-

iii. cc. 46, 47, 48 ; and Dr. O'Conor's Prolegom. white. " Is inde sortitus agnomen Neacht quod

ad Annales, pp. xii. xiii. xiv. xv. nivi (quam neacJit significatione refert) cutis

w Freamhainn — Keating places this in Teab- candore non cesserit." — Lynch.

tha. It is now called, anglice, Frewin, and is * Cliach, in Ui-Drona : i. e. in the barony of

N

90

a Rioghachca

[5160.

Qoip Domain, cuicc mile ceo peapcca. lap mbfic pfchcmogac bliabam
hi pije nGpeann DO Conaipe TT16p, mac Gcippceoil, DO pocaip hi mbpuijin Da
Dfp5 la oibeapjaib. Op a pplaic Conaipe DO cuipeab an muip copcap 506
bliaona pa rip i nlnbfp Colpa DO ponnpaO. Oo gebci beop cna lomaip pop
bhomD-j bhuaip ppia linn. No biooh na cfcpa jan corhoa a nGpinn ina
plaic, ap meo an cpioba -] an caencorhpaic. Nip bo coipneac ambcionach a
plaic, ap nf bmnjeaD gaoc caipce a hmolib 6 mfoon pojhmaip 50 mfbon
Gappaij. Suaill na peacDaoip na peaoha Daibble a meapa ppia linn.

Qoip Domain, cuicc mile ceo peapcca a haon. Qn ceD bliabain oGpinn
jan pfjh lap cConaipe.

Qoip Domain cuig mile ceD peapcca ape. Qn ceiD bliaDain Do CughaiD
Spiab nofpcc hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Domain, cuig mile ceD nochac a haon. lap mbfic pe bliaDna pichfc
hi pighe nGpeann DO CujhaiD Spiab nofpcc ac bach DO cumaD.

Qoip oomain, cuig mile ceo nochac aoo. Qon bliaDain DO Concubap

Idrone, and county of Carlow. After the fall of
Nuadha and the defeat of his people, Conaire
levied a fine on the people of Leinster for the
killing of his father, and they resigned by a
solemn treaty to the kings of Munster that
tract of Ossory extending from Gowran to
Grian — Ogygia, part iii. c. 44.

" Bruighean-da-Dhearg — Otherwise called
Bruighean-da-Bhearga. This place is described
in Leabhar-na-h- Uidhri, as situated on the River
Dothair, now the Dodder, near Dublin. A part
of the name is still preserved in Bothar-na-
Bruighne, i. e. the road of the Bruighean, or
fort, a well-known place on that river. Flann
synchronizes Eochaidh Feidhleach, Eochaidh
Aireamh, Ederscel, Nuadha Neacht, and Conaire,
with Julius Caesar and Octavianus Augustus. He
extends the reign of Conaire over those of the
Roman emperors Tiberius, Caligula, and Clau-
dius. The fort or palace of King Canaire was
burnt by Aingcel Caech, and other desperadoes,
whom he had expelled Ireland on account of their
riots and depredations — See Ogygia, part iii. c. 45.

b Reign of Conaire. — The Annals of Clonmac-
noise give this monarch a reign of sixty years,
and add, " Jesus Christ was crucified in his
time." The Irish writers usually ascribe the
peace and plenty of the reigns of their monarchs
to the righteousness of these monarchs ; but the
peace, plenty, and happiness of this particular
reign, O'Flaherty and others attribute to the
presence of the Redeemer on earth, when he
breathed the same air with man, and walked in
human form among them — See Ogygia, part iii.
c. 45. We have, however, no evidence of the
prosperity of the reign of Conaire older than
the twelfth century, and it is to be suspected
that the account of the happiness of Ireland
during his reign is a mere invention of Christian
writers, for the Irish writers do not at all agree
as to the reign in which the Redeemer was born.
In the Annals of Clonmacnoise it is stated that
some " affirm that Jesus Christ, 4he only be-
gotten Son of God Almighty, was born of the
spotless Virgin Mary, about the twenty-sixth
year of the reign of Faghtna Fahagh ; Connor,

5160.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND,

91

The Age of the World, 5160. Conaire, son of Ederscel, after having been
seventy years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain at Bruighean-da-Dhearg",
by insvtrgents. It was in the reign of Conaire" that the sea annually cast its
produce ashore, at lnbhear-Colpthac. Great abundance of nuts were [annually]
found upon the Boirm [Boyne] and the Buais" during his time. The cattle
were without keepers in Ireland in his reign, on account of the greatness of the
peace and concord. His reign was not thunder-producing or stormy, for the
wind did not take a hair off the cattle from the middle of Autumn to the mid-
dle of Spring. Little but the trees bent from the greatness of their fruit during
his time.

The Age of the World, 5161. The first year of Ireland without a king,
after Conaire.

The Age of the World, 5166. The first year of Lughaidh Sriabh-ndearg
in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 5191. Lughaidh Sriabh-ndearg8, after having been
twenty-six years in the sovereignty of Ireland, died of grief.

The Age of the World, 5192. Conchobhar Abhradhruadhf, son of Finn

the son of the said Faghtna, being King of
Ulster, and Oilell mac Eosse King of Con-
naught." Keating, however, says that Christ
was born in the twelfth year of the reign of
Crimhthann Niadhnair, an incestuous offspring,
of whom such disgusting stories are told that
we are very willing to regard him as not having
breathed the same air with the Redeemer. The
heroes of the Red Branch who flourished during
this and the preceding reigns are much celebrated
by the Irish writers.

c Inbhear-Colptha This was and is still the

name of the mouth of the River Boyne.

d Buais Now the River Bush, in the north

of the county of Antrim.

e Lughaidh Sriabh-nDearg : i. e. Lughaidh of
the Red Circles. Keating says he was so called
because he was marked with red circles round
his body, a fact which he accounts for by a very
repulsive legend which O'Flaherty (Ogygia,

part iii. c. 49) has proved to be an idle fiction.
According to the Annals of Clonmacnoise " he
reigned 25 years, and died of a conceipt he took"
[grief] " of the death of his wife Dervorgil."
Flann says that this monarch died in the fifth
year of the Emperor Vespasian.

f Conchobhar Abhradhruadh: i.e. Conchobhar,
or Conor, of the Reddish Eyelashes, or Eye-
brows.

" Supercilia Conchauri rufa cognomentum
Abhraruadh illi fecerunt, abhra enim supercilia,
et ruadh rufus significat." — Lynch.

The Annals of Tighernach agree with the
Four Masters in giving this monarch a reign of
only one year, namely, the 5th of Vespasian,
i. e. A. D. 74. /From this Dr. O'Conor con-
cludes that those Irish writers err who place
the birth of Christ in the reign of Crimhthann
Niadhnair. — See his Prolegom. ad Annales, p. li.
and from p. Ixxvii. to p. Ixxx.

2

92 QNNaca Rio^hachca eiReaww. [5193.

CtbpaopuaD, mac pmn pilfb, mic ttoppa Ruaib, mic FfP5ura FaiPT>5e« I"
pijhe nGpeann 50 ccopchaip la Cpiorhcann, mac Luijbeach Spiab nofpcc.

Qoip Domain, cuig mile ceo nochac a cpf. Qn ceiD bliaDain Do Cpiom-
rann Niabnaip,«mac Luisbeach, hi pi£e nGpeann.

Chip Domain, cuicc mile ceo nocha a cfcaip. Cln Dapa bliabam Do
Cpiomrann.

OQO1S CR1OSU.

Qn ceo bliabam oaoip CpfopD,-| an coccmab bliabain DO pighe Cpiom-
rainn Niaonaip.

doip Cpiopc, a naoi. d f e Decc DO Cpiomrann hi pighe nepeann, 50 nep-
bailc i nOun Cpiomrainn, i nGoaip, mp rcomeachc Don eachcpa oippbfipc
popp a noeachaib. Qf Don eachcpa fin cug laif na feoiD aDampa imon
ccappac nopba, -| imon ppiccill noip, 50 ccpfb cceooib geam gloiniDe innce, -|
imon cCeDaij cCpiomcainn,lene paineamail ipiDe co mbpeachcpab opba. Oo
bfpc cloibfrii cacbuabach co niolap nairpeach DO maip oip aichleajcha ap
na pionnab ann, pciach co mbocoiDib aipgic aenjil, pleagh Da nac cepnooh
ofn no gonca 61, caball ap nach ceillccci upcop niompaill, i Da coin 50

» Niadhnair Dr. O'Conor translates this patriam retulit, nempe currum aureum ; alveo-

cognomen miles verecundus ; and O'Flaherty un- lum lusorium ex auro, trecentas splendentes

derstands it to mean " husband of Nair ;" but gemmas pro scrupis habentem ; Phrigium in-

Keating gives it a far different interpretation : dusium auro intextum; ensem capulo deaurato

" Tracto cognomine aboriginis pudore, nam-/Vza sculp turarum varietate decoratum cui ea vis

perinde est ac pugil, et nair ac pudibundus : inerat, ut semper victoriam retulerit ; scutum

etenim ille niaximo profundebatur pudore, quod baccis argenteis coelatum ; lanceam vulnus im-

de matris ac filii coitu genitus fuerit." — Lynch. medicabile semper infligentem ; fundum a scopo

k Dun-Cnmhthainn : i. e. Crimhthann's Fort, nunquam aberrantem ; duos canes venaticos

This fort was situated on the hill of Howth, and ligamine argentes astrictos quod centum cum-

its site is occupied by the Bailie's lighthouse. hala" [ancillis] " estimatum est ; cum multis

' Wonderful jewels. — The account of this ex- aliis." — p. 126.

pedition is given by Keating nearly in the same The Leabhar-Gabhala of the O'Clerys contains

words as by the Four Masters, and the passage is a poem of seventy- two verses, ascribed to King

translated into Latin by Dr. Lynch, as follows: Crimhthann himself, in which he describes the

" Cremthonus ille paulo ante mortem ab ex- precious articles he brought into Ireland on this

peditione reversus insignia quasdam eimelia in occasion. It begins, fflu Do cooh an eachcpa

5193.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

93

File, son of Rossa Ruadh, son of Fearghus Fairrghe, was one year in the sove-
reignty of Ireland, when he was slain by Crimhthann, son of Lughaidh Sriabh-
ndearg.

The Age of the World, 5193. The first year of Crimhthann Niadhnair,
son of Lughaidh, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of the World, 5194. The second year of Crimhthann.

OF THE AGE OF CHRIST.

The first year of the age of Christ, and the eighth year of the reign of
Crimhthann Niadhnair8.

The Age of Christ, 9. The sixteenth year of Crimhthann in the sove-
reignty of Ireland* when he died at Dun-Crimhthainnh, at Edair, after returning
from the famous expedition upon which he had gone. It was from this expe-
dition he brought with him the wonderful jewels', among which were a golden
chariot, and a golden chess-board, [inlaid] 'with a hundred transparent gems,
and the Cedach-Crimhthainnk, which was a beautiful cloak, embroidered with
gold. He brought a conquering sword, with many serpents of refined massy
gold inlaid in it ; a shield, with bosses of bright silver ; a spear, from the wound
inflicted by which no .one recovered ; a sling, from which no erring shot was

n-an: i. e. "fortunate" [it was] "that I went on
the delightful adventure." But no mention is
made of the countries into which he went. It
is fabled that he was accompanied on this expe-
dition by his Bainleannan, or female sprite,
named Nair, from whom he was ca]led"*Niadh
Nairi, i. e. Nair's hero, which is a far more ro-
mantic explanation of the name than that dis-
gusting one given by Keating, obviously from
some Munster calumniator of the race of Here-
mon. The following notice of this expedition
of King Crimhthann is given in the Annals
of Clonmacnoise ; but it would appear to have
been interpolated by Mageoghegan, who evi-
dently had a copy of a romantic tale of Crimh-

thann's adventure :

"It is reported that he was brought by a
fairy lady into her palace, where, after great
entertainment bestowed upon him, and after
they took their pleasure of one another by
carnal knowledge, she bestowed a gilt coach
with a sum of money on him as love-token ;
and soon after he died."

O'Flaherty says that this Nair was King
Crimhthann's queen — See Ogygia, p. 294.

k Cedach-Crimliihainn — Michael O'Clery ex-
plains the word cfeoac by bpac (a cloak) in his
Glossary, and adduces the Ceoac Cpiorhcamii
as an example. From this it is evident that this
cloak was celebrated in Irish romantic stories.

94

[10.

plabpab ngeal apccaio fcoppa. 17o bpiii ceo curhal an plabpab hipin maille
le rnopan Do peDoib oile.

Goip Cpiopr, a oeich. Qn ceo bliaoain DO jiije Caipppe Cmncaic, mp
mapbaD na paopclann DO cen mocha uarab cepna ap an opcoin in po hoprab
na huaiple tap na hQireachruachoib. CtnaD na cpf paoip acpullacup
uacha an lonbaib pin. pepaDhac pionnpfchcnach, occdo pfol cCumn CeOr
cachaij, Ciobpaioe Uipeach, occdo Odl nGpaibe, -| Copb Olum, occdo
piogpaib 6ojanachca hi TTluTfiain. Ctgup cmh iaDpi6e bd hi mbponnaib a
mairpeac luibpioc caipip. 6aine injfn pij Ctlban ba macaip opeapabach
pionnpfccnach, Cpuipe injfn pfjh bpfcan macaip Cuipb Oluim, -] Qine mjfn
pfgh Sa^an mdraip Uiobpaioe Opigh.

1 Cairbre Cinncait : i. e. Cairbre the Cat-
headed. Keating states that he was so called
because he had ears like those of a cat. In the
Leabhar-Gabhala of the O'Clerys a more de-
tailed account of the murder of the Milesian
nobility by the Firbolgic plebeians is given, of
which the following is a literal translation :

" The Attacotti of Ireland obtained great sway
over the nobility, so that the latter were all cut
off, except those who escaped the slaughter in
which the nobles were exterminated by the At-
tacots. The Attacotti afterwards set up Cairbre
Caitcheann, one of their own race, as their king.
These are the three nobles that escaped from this
massacre, namely: Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach,
from whom are descended the race of Conn of the
Hundred Battles ; Tibraide Tireach, from whom
are the Dal- Araidhe ; and Corb Olum, from whom
are the nobles of the race ofEimhearFinn. These
sons were in their mother's wombs when they
escaped from the massacre of Magh-Cro, in Con-
naught ; and each of the three queens went re-
spectively over sea. Baine, the daughter of
the king of Alba, was the mother of Fearadhach ;
Cruife, the daughter of the king of Britain, was
the mother of Corb Olum, who was otherwise
called Deirgtheine ; and Aine, the daughter of
. the king of Saxony, was the mother of Tipraide

Tireach. Evil, indeed, was the condition of
Ireland in the time of this Cairbre, for the
earth did not yield its fruits to the Attacotti
after the great massacre which they had made
of the nobility of Ireland, so that the corn,
fruits, and produce of Ireland were barren ; for.
there used to be but one grain upon the stalk,
one acorn upon the oak, and one nut upon the
hazel. Fruitless were her harbours; milkless
her cattle; so that a general famine prevailed
over Ireland during the five years that Cairbre
was in the sovereignty. Cairbre afterwards
died, and the Attacotti offered the sovereignty of
Ireland to Morann, son of Cairbre. He was a
truly intelligent and learned man, and said that
he would not accept of it, as it was not his he-
reditary right; and, moreover, he said that the
scarcity and famine would not cease until they
should send for the three legitimate heirs, to the
foreign countries" [where they were], " namely,
Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach, Corb Olum, and Ti-
braide Tireach, and elect Fearadhach as king, for
to him it was due, because his father" [the last
monarch] " had been killed in the massacre we
have mentioned, whence his mother, Baine, had
escaped. This was done at Morann's suggestion,
and it was to invite Fearadhach to be elected
king that Morann sent the celebrated Udhacht

10.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

discharged ; and two greyhounds, with a silver chain between them, Avhich chain
was worth three hundred cumhals ; with many other precious articles.

The Age of Christ, 10. The first year of the reign of Cairbre Cinncait1, after
he had killed the nobility, except a few who escaped from the massacre in which
the nobles were murdered by the Aitheach Tuatham. These are the three nobles
who escaped from them at that time : Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach", from whom
are [sprung] all race of Conn of the Hundred Battles ; Tibraide Tireach0, from
whom are the Dal-Araidhe ; and Corb Olump, from whom are the kings of the
Eoghanachts, in Minister". And as to these, it was in their mothers' wombs
they escaped. Baine, daughter of the king of Alba, was the mother of Fear-
adhach Finnfeachtnach ; Cruife, daughter of the king of Britain, was the mother
of Corb Olum ; and Aine, daughter of the king of Saxony, was the mother of
Tibraide Tireach.

ot Testament. The nobles were afterwards sent
for, and the Attacotti swore by Heaven and
Earth, the Sun, Moon, and all the elements,
that they would be obedient to them and their
descendants, as long as the sea should surround
Ireland4. They then came to Ireland and settled,
each in his hereditary region, namely, Tipraide
Tireach, in the east of Ulster ; Corb Olum in
the south, over Munster ; and Fearadhach Finn-
feachtnach, at Teamhair of the Kings." — Page
134.

After this follows, in this work, an anonymous
poem of forty-eight verses on the massacre of the
Milesian nobility at Magh-Cro, where they were
entertained at a feast by the Aitheach- Tuatha
or plebeians, and on the restoration of the lawful
heir. It begins "Soepclcmna Gpeann uile,"
" the nobles of Ireland all."

A detailed account of this massacre of the
Milesian nobility at Magh-Cro, near Knoekmaa,
in the county of Galway, is preserved in a ma-
nuscript in the Library of Trin. Coll. Dublin,
H. 3, 18. It is entitled 6pui£ean na n-diceac
Cuaca, i. e. the Palace of the Attacotti.

m Aitheach- Tuatha This name, usually latin-
ized Attacotti, is interpreted Giganteam-Gentem

by Dr. O'Conor (Prolog, i. 74), but " Plebei-
orum hominum genus," by Dr. Lynch and
others. They were the descendants of the
Firbolgs and other colonies, who were treated
as a servile and helot class by the dominant
Scoti — See reign of Niall Naeighiallach.

n Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach: i. e. Fearadhach
Finn, the Righteous. " peaccnoc .1. ptpenca."
— O'Clery. Conn of the Hundred Battles, the
ancestor of the most distinguished families of
Ulster and Connaught, was the fourth in descent
from him ; but the royal family of Leinster is
not descended from him, so that their ancestor
also escaped this massacre.

0 Tibraide Tireach. — He was king of Ulster
for thirty years and ancestor of Magennis, Mac
Artan, and other families of the east of Ulster ;
but there are other chieftain families of the
race of Rudhraighe, not descended from him, as
O'More of Leix, O'Conor Kerry, and O'Conor
Corcomroe.

p Corb Olum He was otherwise called

Deirgtheine, and from him Oilioll Olum, King
of Munster, and ancestor of the most powerful
families of Munster, was the fourth in descent.

' Eoghanachts, in Munster — He is also the

Rioghachca eiReaNN. [14.

Qoip Cpiope, a cfeaip oecc. lap mbfie 0615 bliaona hi pighe nGpeann
DO Chaipbpe CaiccfnD debar. Olc cpa po bof Gpe ppm peirhiuppiom,
aimbpich a hioch, ap ni bioo ace en 5pdine ap an cconall, eccopehach a
hinbip, oiopcc a cfepa, nfimlionmap a mfp, ap ni biob ace aen ofpc ap an

palaij.

TTlac Don Caipbpe hifin an TTlopann moipeolach ppip a paice TTlopann

mac TDaoin.

Qoip Cpiope, a cuig Decc. Qn ceD bliaDam DpfpaDach pionnpfchcnach
na pish op Gpinn. TTlaich epa po po boi 6ipe ppia linnpiom. Roboap cfpca
puaimnfch na piona. Cuipmip an calam a copao. lapccmap na hinbiopa,
blfchcmapa na buaip, ceanncpom na coillce.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpioca a pe. lap ccaicfrh Da bliaDam ap pichicc hi pishe
nGpeann opfpaDach pionopfchcnach, mac Cpiomcainn NiaDndip, po ecc hi
rUfrhpaij.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpiocha a pechc. Ctn ceo bliaDam opiacach pionD, mac
Daipe, mic Oluchaij, hi pijhe nGpeanri.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpioca anaoi. lap mbfic cpi bliaona hi pighe nGpeann Don

ancestor of the equally powerful and numerous aequo ille, vel hie a veritate discederet. Unde

tribe of Dal-gCais ; but he is not the ancestor vulgari diverbio testium colla Morani anulo

of the O'Driscolls, so that we must infer that cingi exoptamus." — Lynch, p. 128.

their ancestor escaped this massacre at Magh- This chain is mentioned in several commen-

Cro. taries on the Brehon Laws, among the ordeals of

r Morann Mac Maein __ The Leabhar-Gabhala the ancient Irish. Mr. Moore states, in his H in-

states that, after the inauguration of Fearadhach tory of Ireland, vol. L p. 123, that "the admi-

as monarch of Ireland, he appointed Morann, son nistration of this honest counsellor succeeded in

of Cairbre Cinnchait, as his chief brehon or judge, earning for his king the honourable title of the

That this Morann had a sin or chain called Idh Just;" and that, " under their joint sway the

Morainn, which, when put around the neck of a whole country enjoyed a lull of tranquillity as

guilty person, would squeeze him to suffocation, precious as it was rare." But the O'Clerys (ubi

and, when put about the neck of an innocent per- supra) assert "that Fearadhach proceeded to

son, would expand so as to reach the earth: extirpate the Aitheach-Tuatha, or to put them

" Moranus ille Carbri filius, judiciis ferendis under great rent and servitude, to revenge upon

a Rege adhibitus, observantissimus asquitatis them the evil deed they had committed in mur-

cultor, anulum habuit ea virtute prseditum, ut dering the nobility of Ireland." — p. 135.

cujus vis judicii sententiam pronuntiaturi, vel Flann synchronizes the Irish monarchs Cairbre

testis testiraonium prolaturi collo circumdatus > Niadhnair, Cairbre Caitcheann, and Fearadhach

arete fauces stringeret ; si latum unguem ab Finnfeachtnach, with the Koman emperors Titus

14.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

97

The Age of Christ, 14. Cairbre Caitcheann, after having been five years
in the sovereignty of Ireland, died. Evil was the state of Ireland during his
reign ; fruitless her corn, for there used to be but one grain on the stalk ;
fruitless her rivers ; milkless her cattle ; plentiless her fruit, for there used to
be but one acorn on the oak.

Son to this Cairbre was the very intelligent Morann, who was usually called
Morann mac Maeinr.

The Age of Christ, 15. The first year of Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach as
king over Ireland ; good was Ireland during his time. The seasons were right
tranquil. The earth brought forth its fruit ; fishful its river-mouths ; milkful
the kine ; heavy-headed the woods.

The Age of Christ, 36. Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach, son of Crimhthann
Niadhnair, after having spent twenty-two years in the sovereignty of Ireland,
died at Teamhair.

The Age of Christ, 37. The first year of Fiatach Finn, son of Daire, son
of Dluthach, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 39. This Fiatach Finn* (from whom are the Dal-

and Domitian, and adds, that Domitian died in
the reign of Fearadhach. Tigernach totally omits
Cairbre Cinnchait, as being an usurper. Keat-
ing makes Cairbre Cinnchait succeed Fiacha
Finolaidh ; but he is clearly wrong, as shewn
by Dr. Lynch in his translation of Keating's
work, in which he writes the following remark
on the misplacing of this plebeian usurper in
the regal catalogue:

" Ad primum Cremthono successorem assig-
nandum Ketingus ad semitam flectit ab Antiquis
Historicis minime tritam : nam ille Cremthono
filium ejusFeradachumFinnfachtnaum: illiCar-
brium Caticipitem in serie Eegum Hibernise
ponunt: et hanc sententiam, quos vidi Annales
Hibernici, omnia metrica Monarcharum Hiber-
niee alba, et Synchronorum Liber, Psalterio Cas-
selensi, et Odugenani miscellaneis insertus, et a
me in illius apographo, et in hujus autographo
lectus (in quo illorum Principatum, in singulis

orbis terrarum Monarchiis, qui a Nino ad Ho-
norium et Arcadium tenuerunt, series texitur,
Eegibus Hibernife, qui synchroni singulis erant
allextis) sua comprobatione confirmant ; ut pro-
inde mirer quid Ketingo mentem immisit, ut
Carbrium, suo motum ordine, non modo post
memoratum Feradachum, sed etiam post duos
ejus successores, in regum nomenclatura collo-
caret. Liceat igitur eum, inter Hibernice Keges
eo loco figere, quern illi veterum omnium His-
toricorum adstipulatio adstruit." — p. 127.

5 Fiatach Finn : i. e. Fiatach the Fair. Flann
synchronizes Fiatach Finn and Fiacha Finno-
laidh with Trajan, the Roman emperor. Tigher-
nach, who makes Fiacha Finnolaidh succeed his
father, Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach, does not
mention this Fiatach Finn as monarch of Ire-
land. He only makes him reign king of E mania,
or Ulster, for sixteen years, and this seems
correct, though it may have happened that he

98 • aNwaca Rio^hachca eiReaNN. [40.

piacach pionn po (o ccao Dal ppiacach i nUlraib) DO pocaip la piacha

pionnpolaib.

CCoip Cpiopr, cfrpaca bliaDam. Qn ceo bliaDain DO pighe piachach

pionnpolaiD op Gpinn.

Qoip Cpiopr, caoga a pe. lap mbfic pfchc mbliaDna Decc hi pijhe
nGpeann opiachaio pionnpolaiD po mapbab e lap ra coiccfochaib cpe
corhaiple na nGicfchcuach i nopccam TTloighe 6olg. QciaD na coicceDhaigh
lap a ccopchaip. 6lim mac Connpac pf Ula6, Sanb mac Cfic, mic TTlagach,
pijTi Connacc, poipbpe mac pine pf TTluman, i GochaiD Gincfno pi Laijfn.
Nf paipjoibpiom DO cloinn achcmaD aen mac boi hi mbpoinn Grne injfn pf
Glban, Uuaral aoacomnaic.

Qoip Cpiopc, caocca peachr. Qn ceo bba&ain DO pighe Glim mic
Conpac.

Ctoip Cpiopc, pfchcmojac a pe. lap mbfic piche bliaDam hi pije op
Gpinn oGlim mac Conpach DO pochaip hi ccarh Ctichle la Uuachal Ufchc-
map. Oo pao Dia Diojla hi caonaiD a mijnfom pop Girfchcuaroib ppi
pfimiup Glim ipm pfje .1 Gpe Do bfiu gan loch, gan bliochc, jan mfp, 5011
lapcc,-] jan nac mopmaic aile, o po mapbpac Gichfchruanha piacha pionn-
ola6 inD opgain TTloije 6olg 50 pe Uhuacail Ufchcmaip.

Ctoip Chpipr, ceo a pe. lap mbfich cpiocha blia&am hi pighe nGpeann
DO Uuachal 'Cfchcmap copcaip la TTlal mac TCocpaiDe pi Ula6 hi TTloigh

was a more powerful man than the legitimate the south-east of the county of Cavan, and ex-
sovereign, tending into Meath — See A. M. 3859.

* Dal-Fiatach : i e. the tribe or race of Fia- * Aichitt. — Also written Achaill. According

tach Finn. This was a warlike tribe seated in to all the copies of the Dinnsenchus, this was

the present county of Down. In the twelfth the ancient name of the hill of Skreen, near

century Mac Donlevy, who offered such brave Tara, in the county of Meath See O'Flaherty's

opposition to Sir John De Courcy, was the head Ogygia, part iii. c. 45. Flann synchronizes Elim

of this family. and his successor Tuathal with the Roman Em-

"FiachaFinnfholaid/i: i.e. Fiacha of the white peror Adrian. The Annals of Clonmacnoise

Cattle. " A'candore quo Hiberniaj boves, illo agree with the Four Masters, giving him a reign

Rege, insignabantur, cognomen illud adeptus : of twenty years.

Finn enim candorem, et olaidh bovem, signifi- » Tuathal Teachtmhar: i.e. Tuathal the Legi-

cat." — Lynch, p. 129. The Annals of Clonmac- timate. Flann synchronizes this monarch with

noise give this Fiacha a reign of only seven years, the Roman Emperor, Adrian; and Tighernach,

w Magh-bolg. — Now Moybolgue, a parish in who gives him a reign of thirty years, says that

40.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 99

Fiatach' in Uladh), after having been three years in the sovereignty of Ireland,
was slain by Fiacha Finnfolaidh.

The Age of Christ, 40. The first year of the reign of Fiacha Finnfolaidh
over Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 56. Fiacha Finnfolaidh", after having been seventeen
years in the. sovereignty of Ireland, was killed by the provincial kings, at the
instigation of the Aitheach-Tuatha, in the slaughter of Magh-bolg™. These
were the provincial kings by whom he was killed : Elim, son of Conra, King
of Ulster ; Sanbh, son of Ceat Mac Magach, King of Connaught ; Foirbre, son
of Fin, King of Munster ; and Eochaidh Aincheann, King of Leinster. He left
of children but one son only, who was in the womb of Eithne, daughter of the
King of Alba [Scotland]. Tuathal was his [the son's] name.

The Age of Christ, 57. The first year of the reign of Elim, son of Conra.

The Age of Christ, 76. Elim, son of Conra, after having been twenty years
in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain in the battle of Aichill*, by Tuathal
Teachtmhar. God took vengeance on the Aitheach-Tuatha for their evil deed,
during the time that Elim was in the sovereignty, namely, Ireland was without
corn, without milk, without fruit, without fish, and without every other great
advantage, since the Aitheach-Tuatha had killed Fiacha Finnolaidh in the
slaughter of Magh-Bolg, till the time of Tuathal Teachtmhar.

The Age of Christ, 106; Tuathal Teachtmhary, after having been thirty
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was skin by Mai, son of Rochraidhe, King

he was slain in the last year of Antoninus Pius or Attacotti, of Ireland, whom he reduced to
by Mai. Now Adrian reigned from the death obedience in the various provinces ; of his for-
of Trajan, A. D. 117 to A. D. 138, when he was mation of Meath as mensal lands for the mo-
succeeded by Antoninus Pius, who reigned till narchy ; and of his having celebrated the Feis-
161. Therefore Tuathal's death occurred in Teamhrach, at which the princes and chieftains
1 60, which shews that the chronology of the of the kingdom assembled, who all swore by the
Four Masters is antedated by many years. sun, moon, and all the elements, visible and in-
The Annals of Clonmacnoise, the Leabhar- visible, that they would never contest the sove-
Gdbhala of the O'Clerys, Keating's History of reignty of Ireland with him or his race ; of his
Ireland, the Book of Lecan, and various other having established solemn conventions atTlacht-
ancient and modern authorities, too numerous gha, Uisneach, and Tailltinn, &c. ; imposed a fine
to be here particularized, contain detailed ac- on the King of Leinster called the Borumha-
counts of 1 33 battles fought by him in the dif- Laighean, which, was paid by the Leinstermen
ferent provinces, against the Aitheach-Tuatha, during the reigns of forty monarchs of Ireland.

o2

100

[107-

Line, hi TTlom in caca, i nOal QpaiDe an bail ap a mbpuchc Ollap -\ Ollapba
an Da abumn. Ceanngubha amm an cnuic in po mapbaD pom peb oeapbup

an pann :

Ollap -| Ollapba,

Ceann guba cpiachach ruacach,
nibDap anmonoa 5011 abbap,
an la DO mapbab Uuarhal.

Ctjijp arhail ap pubpaD bfop,

diacal Diap ppine pfponn,
plair TTliDe milib jalann,
jaocra plair Ppfmann pinne
hi pe cnuic 5^nt)e an 5a^anr)<

Goip Chpipr, ceo a peace. Qn ceo bliaDain DO TTIal, mac Rocpaibe,
mic Cacbaba, hi pije nGpeann.

Qoip Chpipr, ceD a Deic. lap mbeic ceirpe bliaona na pij op GpinD Do
ITlal, mac T?ocpai6e, DO ceap la peiDlimiD Reccmap.

There is a very curious Irish tract on the ori-
ginal imposition and final remittance of this
Borumha, or Cow-tribute, preserved in thexBook
of Lecan, and another copy of it in a vellum
manuscript in the Library of Trinity College,
Dublin, H. 2. 18, which has been prepared for
publication by the Irish Archaeological Society.
The yearly amount of this tribute is stated as
follows, in the Annals of Clonmacnoise :

" One hundred and fifty cows ; one hundred
and fifty hoggs; one hundred and fifty cover-
letts, or pieces of cloth to cover beds withal ;
one hundred and fifty caldrons, with two passing
great caldrons consisting in breadth and deep-
ness five fists, for the king's own brewing; one
hundred and fifty couples of men and women in
servitude, to draw water on their backs for the
said brewing ; together with one hundred and
fifty maids, with the king of Leinster's own
daughter, in like bondage and servitude."

The most ancient authority for the battles

CAMPBELL
COLLECTIO*

of Tuathal is in a poem by Maelmura Othna,
beginning " Cpiac op cpiacaiB Cuaral Ceacc-
riiap, i. e. Lord over lords was Tuathal Teacht-
mhar," of which there are various ancient copies
still preserved. The O'Clerys have inserted into
their Leabhar-Gdbhdla this poem and two other
ancient ones on the marriages and deaths of Tua-
thal's daughters, but without giving the names
of the authors.

• The two rivers, Ollar and OUarbha — The
names of these rivers are now obsolete, but
there can be no doubt as to their modern names.
The Ollar is the Six-mile Water, and the
OUarbha is the Larne Water. The Larne river
rises by two heads in the parish of Bally-
nure ; the Six-mile Water, in the parish of
Ballycor, a little south-west of Shane's Hill :
after a course of about 100 perches it becomes
the boundary between the parish of Kilwaugh-
ter, as well as between the baronies of Upper
Glenarm and Upper Antrim. Following the

107.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

101

of Ulster, in Magh-Line, at Moin-an-chatha, in Dal-Araidhe, where the two
rivers, Ollar and Ollarbha2, spring. Ceanngubha is the name of the hill on
which he was killed, as this quatrain proves :

Ollar and Ollarbha,

Ceann-gubha", lordly, noble,

Are not names [given] without a cause,

The day that Tuathal was killed.
And as was also said :

Tuathal, for whom the land was fair,

Chief of Meath of a thousand heroes,

Was wounded, — that chief of fair Freamhainn", —

On the side of the hill of Gleann-an-Ghabhannc.

The Age of Christ, 107. The first year of Mai, son of Rochraidhe, in the
sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 110. After Mai, son of Bochraidhe", had been four
years king over Ireland, he was slain by Feidhlimidh Rechtmhar.

direction of a ravine, which runs down the face
of the hill, it arrives at the townland of Head-
wood, in Kilwaughter parish, near the place
where the three baronies of Upper Glenarm,
Upper Antrim, and Lower Belfast. In this
townland there is a spot where a branch of the
Six-mile Water can be turned into the Larne
river; and here is a large bog, probably the
Moin-an-chatha, or Battle-bog, mentioned in the
text, lying between the two rivers. On the
face of Ballyboley Hill, about a quarter of a
mile to the west, is a place called Carndoo, and
here, under the brow of the hill, is a pile con-
sisting of several huge stones, ranged in an
irregular circle, the space within being chiefly
occupied by six upright stones, disposed in
pairs, and supporting two blocks above five feet
long, and from two to three feet square, laid
horizontally upon them — See Reeves's Ecclesi-
astical Antiquities of the Dioceses of Down, Connor,
and Dromore, p. 268.

a Ceann-gubha : i. e. Head, or Hill of Grief.
This is doubtlessly Ballyboley hill, and Tua-
thal's monument is the pile at Carndoo above
described.

b Freamhainn — A famous hill, rising over
Loch Uair, or Lough Owel, near the town of
Mullingar, in Westmeath.

0 Gleann-an-Ghabhann: i. e. the Valley of the
Smith. This was probably the name of that
part of the valley of the Six-mile Water nearest
to Ballyboley hill.

d Mai, son of Rochraidhe — Tighernach does
not give this Mai as monarch of Ireland, but
makes Feidhlimidh Eechtmhar immediately suc-
ceed his father, Tuathal, for nine years; but
Mai is given as monarch by Flann, who syn-
chronizes him with Antoninus Pius, and in the
Annals of Clonmacnoise, in which he is said to
have been contemporaneous with the celebrated
physician Galen, who flourished from A. D. 143
to 187.

102

[111.

Ctoip Cpiopc, ceo a haon noecc. Ctn ceiD b'babain DpfiDlmnb TCeccmop,
mac Uuachail Cechcrhaip, na pigh 0? Gpinn. baine injfn Scail macaip an
peolimib pi. dp uaiche ammnijrep Cnoc mbdine la hOipsiallaib, ap ip
ann po haonaichcpi. dp le bfop po clapab Raich TTlop ITIhaighe Cfmhna
i nUllcoib.

Qoip Cpiopc, ceo anaoi oecc. lap mbfic naoi mbliabna hi pijhe nGpeann
DpfiDlimib Reachcmap acbail.

Qoip Chpiopc, ceo piche. Qn ceo bliabam DO Cacaoip TTlop, mac peib-
limiD Pipupglaip, hi pighe n6peann.

Qoip Chpiopc, ceo piche aba lap mblich cpi bbabna na pij op Gpinn
DO Cacaoip TTlop DO ceap la Conn, 1 la Luaishnibh Ceampa, hi jjcac TTloighe
hQ5ha.

Qoip Chpiopc, ceD piche a cpi. Qn ceio bliaDain Do Conn Ceocachach
na pij op Gpinn. Ct noiDce jeine Cuinn poppich coicc ppiompoio 50 Ufrhpaij
na po caiobpfoh piam 50 pin. Qciacc a nanmanna, Slighe Qpail, Sbghe

e Feidhlimidh Beachtmhar. — The author of the
fourth Life of St. Bridget, published by Colgan,
in his Trias Thaum., c. i., says that this monarch
was called Eeachtmor, because he instituted great
laws, " Reackt enim Scotice Legem sonet."
Keating says that he was called Beachtmhar, be-
cause he was the first that established Lex
talionis in Ireland ; but O'Flaherty says that
he changed the law of retaliation into a more
lenient penalty, according to the nature of the
crime, which penalty is called eruic. — Ogygia,
iii. 57.

The Book of Lecan, fol. 300, b, places the
commencement of this monarch's reign in the
time of M. Aurelius, which agrees with Tigher-
nach's Annals. Aurelius reigned from A. D. 161
to 180.

f Seal. — O'Flaherty (Ogygia, part iii. c. 56)
calls him Seal Balbh, and says that he was
King of Finland, the inhabitants of which, as
well as those of Denmark and Norway, were
called Fomorians by the Irish.

8 Cnoc-Baine : i. e. Baine's hill. This was

the. name of a hill situated in the plain of Magh-
Leamhna, otherwise called Clossach, in Tyrone ;
but it is now obsolete.

h Rath-mor, of Magh-Leamhna: i. e.-the Great
Eath of Magh Leamhna. This was also in Clos-
sach.—See A. M. 3727.

1 Luaighni of Teamhair — A people in Meath,
the position of whom is determined by a passage
in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, lib. ii.
c. 10, which places the church of Domhnach-
mor-Muighe Echenach in their territory.

k Magh h-Agha — According to the Will of
Cathaeir Mor, as preserved in the Books of Lecan
and Ballymote, Cathaeir was slain by the Fian
or militia of Luaighne in the battle of Tailltin.
Accordingto the Annals of Clonmacnoise, "King
Cahier's armie was overthrown and himself
slaine, and buried near the Eiver of Boyne."
Dr. O'Conor does not seem to believe that Ca-
thaeir Mor was monarch of Ireland. — See his
edition of these Annals, p. 76, note. It is
curious to remark that in about 1000 years
after this period the descendants of Conn and

111.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

103

The Age of Christ, 111. The first year of the reign of Feidhlimidh
Reach tmharc, son of Tuathal Teachtmhar, as king over Ireland. Baine, daughter
of Scalf, was the mother of this Feidhlimidh. It was from her Cnoc-Baineg, in
Oirghialla, for it was there she was interred. It was by her also Rath-mor, of
Magh-Leamhnah, in Ulster, was erected.

The Age of Christ, 119. Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar, after having been nine
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, died.

The Age of Christ, 120. The first year of Cathaeir Mor, son of Feidh-
limidh Firurghlais, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 122. Cathaeir Mor, after having been three years king
over Ireland, was slain by Conn, and the Luaighni of Teamhair', in the battle
of Magh h-Aghak.

The Age of Christ, 123. The first year of Conn of the Hundred Battles
as king over Ireland. The night of Conn's birth were discovered1 five principal
roads [leading] to Teamhair, which were never observed till then. These are

Cathaeir contended for power as fiercely as their
ancestors, namely, Roderic O'Conor, King of
Connaught and Monarch 50 BppeapaBpa, i. e.
cum renitentia, and Dermot Mac Murrough, King
of Leinster ; for although they could not boast
of more than one monarch of Ireland in either
family for a period of at least 1 000 years, still
did each regard himself as fit for the monarchy
(the one as already crowned, the other as fit
to be crowned) ; while O'Neill of Ulster, and
O'Melaghlin of Meath, looked upon both as
usurpers. In. the speech said, by Giraldus Cam-
brensis, to have been delivered by Dermot Mac
Murrough to his army, he is represented as
having spoken as follows :

" Sed si Lageniam quasrit : quoniam alicui
Connactensium aliquando subjecta fuit: Ea ra-
tione et nos Connactiam petimus, quia nostris
aliquoties cum totius Hibernise subditse fuerat
monarchia." — Hibernia Expvgnata, lib. i. c. 8.

Dermot here alludes to Dermot, son of Do-
nough, surnamed Maelnambo, who was his great
great grandfather, and who, according to the

Annals of Clonmacnoise, was King of Ireland,
of the Danes of Dublin, and of Wales, in 1069;
and to Cathaeir More, from whom he was the
twenty-fourth in descent, for he could boast of
no other monarch of all Ireland in his family.
Roderic O'Conor could reckon his own father
only among the monarchs of his line up to the
time of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin in the fourth
century ; for though his ancestor, Brian, was
the eldest son of this King Eochaidh, yet the
claims of him and his race were set aside by
the more warlike race of Niall of the Nine Hos-
tages, the ancestor of the illustrious family of
O'Neill, for nearly 1000 years.

1 Were discovered. — This looks as if it was
believed that these roads sprang into existence
of their own accord, as if for joy at the birth of
Conn ; and they are spoken of in this sense by
Lughaidh O'Clery, in his poetical controversy
with Teige Mac Dary (see Ogygia, iii. c. 60) ;
but the probability is that they were finished
by King Feidhlimidh the Lawgiver on the birth-
day of his son, Conn.

104

[157.

TTlio6lua6pa, Slfghe Cualann, Slighe TT16p, Sli5he Ddla. Slije TT16p cpa
ap ipiDe epccip Riaoa .1. pabponna Gpeann a Do ecip Chonn -\ Goghan TTlop.
doip Chpiopc, ceo caocca a peachc. lap mbfich cuij blia6na rpiocha
hi pi^he nSpeann DO Conn CeDcarhac copcaip la ^lobpaioe Uipeach, mac
TTlail, mic T?ochpai6e, pi Ulab hi cUuaich Clmpoip.

m Slighe-Asail. — This was a western road ex-
tending from the hill of Tara, in the direction
of Loch-Uair (Lough Owel), near Mullingar, in
Westmeath. A part of this road is distinctly
referred to in Leabhar-na-h Uidhri (fol. 7, b, a),
as extending from Dun-na-nAirbhedh to the
Cross at Tigh-Lomain.

11 Slighe-Midhluachra This is often men-
tioned as a road leading into the north of Ire-
land, but its exact position has not been deter-
mined.

0 Slighe-Cualawh. — This extended from Tara
in the direction of Dublin and Bray ; and its
position was, perhaps, not very different from
the present mail-coach road.

p Slighe-Mor: i. e. the great way or road-
This was a western line, the position of which
is determined by the Eiscir-Eiada — See note '.

' Slighe-Dala This was the great south-
western road of ancient Ireland, extending
from the southern side of Tara Hill in the di-
rection of Ossory. The castle of Bealach-mor,
in Ossory, marks its position in that territory.
—See Bealach-mor Muighe-Dala, A. D. 1580.

1 The Eiscir-Eiada. — This is a continuous line
of gravel hills, extending from Dublin to Cla-
rinbridge, in the county of Galway. It is men-
tioned in ancient Irish manuscripts as extending
from Dublin to Clonard, thence to Clonmacnoise
and Clonburren, and thence to Meadhraighe, a

peninsula extending into the bay of Galway

Lib. Lecan, fol. 167, a, a, and Circuit of Muir-
cheartach Mac Neill, pp. 44, 45, note 128.

This division of Ireland into two nearly equal
parts, between Conn of the Hundred Battles and
Eoghan Mor, otherwise called Mogh Nuadhat,

is mentioned in the Annals of Tighernach,
A. D. 166 ; but no particulars of the battles or
cause of dispute between these rivals are given
by that grave annalist. The writer of Cath
Maighe-Leana, however, gives a minute account
of the cause of the dispute, and of the battle,
which savours much of modern times ; and the
Annals of Clonmacnoise, as translated by Ma-
geoghegan, contain the following notice of Conn,
and of the dissension between him and the head
of the race of Heber, who was king of the
southern Irish, which also savours strongly of
modern times.

" Conn Kedcahagh having thus slain King Ca-
hire, succeeded himself, and was more 'famous
than any of his ancestors for his many victories
and good government. He was called Conn
Kedcahagh, of" [i. e. from] " a hundred battles
given" [i. e. fought] " by him in his time. He
is the common ancestor, for the most part, of the
north of Ireland, except the Clanna-Rowries,
and the sept of Luthus, son of Ithus. He had
three goodly sons, Conly, Criona, and ArtEnear ;
and three daughters, Moyne" [the mother of
Fearghus Duibhdeadach, King of Ulster, and
monarch of Ireland], " Sawe" [Sadhbh or Sab-
bina], " and Sarad" [the queen of Conaire II].
Sawe was married to" [Maicniadh, for whom
she had Lughaidh Maccon, monarch of Ireland,
and after his death to Oilioll Olum] " the King
of Monster, by whom she had many sons, as
the ancestors of the Macarties, O'Briens, O'Ker-
vells, O'Mahonies, and divers others of the west"
[south?] " part of Ireland, by which means they
have gotten themselves that selected and choice
name much used by the Irish poets at the time

157.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

105

their names : Slighe-Asailm, Slighe-Midhluachra", Slighe-Cualaim0, Slighe-Morp,
Slighe-Dalaq. Slighe-Mor is [that called] Eiscir-Kiadar, i. e. the division-line
of Ireland into two parts, between Gonn and Eoghan Mor.

The Age of Christ, 157. Conn of the Hundred Battles, after having been
thirty-five years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain by Tibraite Tireach,
son of Mai, son of Rochraidhe, King of Ulster, at Tuath-Amroiss.

of their commendations and praises, called Sile
Sawa, which is as much in English as the Issue
of Sawe. •

"Owen More, alias Moynod" [Mogh Nuadhat]
" warred upon him a long time. He was King
of Monster, and was so strong that he brought
the king to divide with him, and allow him,
as his share, from Esker-Riada" [southwards]
" beginning at" [that part of] " Dublin where-
upon the High-street is set " [i. e. situated],
" and extending to Ath-Cleyth Mearie, in Tho-
mond" [recte in Connaught]. " Owen's share
was of the south, and of him took the name
Lehmoye or Moye's half in deale. King Conn's
share stood of the north part of the said Esker,
which of him was likewise called Leagh-Conn,
or Conn's halfe in deale, and they do retain
these names since.

" This division of Ireland stood for one year
after, until Owen More, alias Moynodd, being
well aided by his brother-in-law, the King of
Spaine's son, and a great army of Spaniards,
picked occasion to quarrell and fall out with
the King for the customs of the Shippings of
Dublin, alleging that there came more shipps
of King Conn's side, then" [tjian] " of his
side, and that he would needs have the customs
in common between them, which King Conn
refused ; whereupon they were encensed migh-
tily against each other, and met, with their two
great armies, at the plains and Heath of Moy-
lena, in the territory of Fercall, where the ar-
mies of Owen More were overthrown, himself
and Fregus, the King of Spaine's son, slain, and

afterwards burried in two little Hillocks, now
to be seen at the said plains, which, as some
say, are the tombs of the said Owen and Fregus.

" The King having thus slain and vanquished
his enemies, he reigned peaceably and quietly
twenty years, with great encrease and plenty
of all good things among his subjects through-
out the whole kingdom, so as all, in general,
had no want, until the King's brothers, Eochie
Finn and Fiagha Swye, seeing the King had
three goodly sons, Art, Conly, and Criona,
which were like to inherit the Crown after
their father's death, sent privy message to Ti-
prady Tyreagh, son of King Mall Mac Eochrye,
who was slain by Felym Keaghtwar, the said
King Conn's father ; whereupon the said Ti-
bradie, with a very willing heart, came up to
Taragh, accompanied with certain other male-
factors, assaulted the King at unawares, and
wilfully killed him, on Tuesday, the 20th of
October, in Anno 172 [recte 173], in the 100th
year of the King's age, as he was making great
preparations towards the great Feast of Taragh,
called Ffeis-Taragh, which yearly, onHollantide,
and for certain days after, was held."

s Tuath-Amrois. — Not identified. It must
have been the name of a district very near the
hill of Tara, as King Conn was murdered while
making preparations for the Feis Teamrach, ac-
cording to the older authorities.

Flann synchronizes Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar,
Cathaeir Mor, and Conn of the Hundred Battles,
with M. Aurelius ; and says that Conn Cedcha-
thach gained the battle of Maghlena in the reign

106

Rioghachca

[158.

doip Chpipc, ceo caocca a hocc. Qn ceiD bliaoam DO Conaipe, mac
TTlooha Cama, hi pi^he uap 6pinn.

Ctoip Chpiopc, ceo peapcca a 01115. lap mbfich ochc mblia6na hi pighe
nGpeann ooChonaipe, mac TTloba Cama, copcaip la Nfirhio mac Spuibginn.
Cpi meic laip an cConaipe hipin, Coipbpe TTlupcc, 6 paicfp TTlupccpaije,
Caipppe bapcain, o ccd6 baipcmj; hi cCopca baipccinn, -\ Caipppe Piaca,

0 bpuilic Odl Riaca. SapaiD injion Cuinn Ceocachaij machaip na mac
pa Conaipe, mic TTIoDha Lamha.

'doip Chpipc, ceo peapcca ape. Ctn ceo b'liabam DO pighe Ctipc, mic

• t."

Cuinn CeDcachaij.

CloipCpiopr, ceo ochcmogac ape. Q haon picfc oQpr, mac Cuinn CeD-
cachaij, hi pije nGpeaTin. Cach Cmo peabpac pia macaib Oiliolla Quluim,

1 piap na rpi Coipbpib (clann Conaipe, mic TTloba Lama .i.Caipbpe TTIupcc,
Caipppe Riaoa -| Caipppe bapcain) pop Oaoepa Dpai, pop NerhiD mac

of Connnodus. — See Dr. O'Conor's Prolegomena,
pp. xi. xii. xvii.

c Cairbre Muse. — He was the ancestor of all
the tribes called Muscraighe, in Munster, as
Muscraighe-Breogain, now the barony of Clan-
william, in the south-west of the county of
Tipperary ; Muscraighe-Mitine, now the barony
of Muskerry, in the county of Cork ; and Mus-
craighe-Thire, now the baronies of Upper and
Lower Ormond, in the north of the county of
Tipperary. — Offi/gia, iii. c. 63. Dr. O'Brien
doubts, in his Irish Dictionary, voce MUSCKITH,
that the existence of these Carbrys rests on any
certain historical foundation; but there is as
much authority from Irish history for the ex-
istence of these Carbrys, as for any other fact
belonging to the same period — See Ledbhar na
gCeart, p. 42, note T.

u Baiscnigk — This tribe inhabited the district
now comprised in the baronies of Moyarta and
Clonderalaw, in the south-west of the county of
Clare, where, after the establishment of sur-
names, the two chief families of the race were
the O'Baiscinns and O'Donnells.

w Dal-Riada The descendants of Cairbre

Rioghfhoda, i. e. of the long ulna, were the
Dalriads, a tribe in the north of the present
county of Antrim, long since extinct or un-
known there, and the more illustrious tribe of
the Dalriads of Scotland, of whom O'Flaherty,
in his Ogygia (ubi supra), treats, and also Pin-
kerton and other modern writers. The earliest
writer who mentions the settlement of the Dal-
Jtiada in Scotland is Bede, who, in his Ecd.
Hist. lib. i. c. i. says : " Scoti, Duce Reuda de
Hibernia egressi, amicitia vel ferro sibimet in-
ter Pictos, sedes quas hactenus habent, vindi-
cavernnt." In about three hundred years after
the settlement of Cairbre Eiada in Scotland,
the Dal-Riada of Ulster, who were of the same
race, headed by the sons of Ere, son of Eo-
chaidh Muinreamhar, invaded Scotland, and
founded another Dal-Riada in that kingdom.
The territory first acquired by the Gaeidhil or
Scoti, among the Picts, received the name of
Airer-Gaeidheal, i. e. the region or district of
the Gaeidhil, now shortened to Argyle (and
not Ard na nGaidheal, as O'Flaherty has guess-

158.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

107

The Age of Christ, 158. The first year of Conaire, son of Modh-Lamha,
in sovereignty over Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 165. Conaire, son of Mogh-Lamha, after having been
eight years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell by Neimhidh, son of Sruibhgheann.
This Conaire had three sons, Cairbre Muse', from whom the Muscraighe are
called ; Cairbre Baschaein, from whom are the Baiscnigh", in Corca-Baiscinn ;
and Cairbre Eiadal, from whom are the Dal-Riadaw. Saraid, daughter of Conn
of the Hundred Battles, was the mother of these sons of Conaire, son of Modh-
Lamha.

The Age of Christ, 166. The first year of the reign of Art, son of Conn
of the Hundred Battles.

The Age of Christ, 186. The twenty-first year of Art, son of Conn of the
Hundred Battles, in the sovereignty of Ireland. The battle of Ceannfeabhrat31
by the sons of Oilioll Olum* and the three Cairbres, i. e. Cairbre Muse, Cairbre
Riada, and Cairbre Bascainn, against Dadera, the Druid ; Neimhidh, son of

ingly assumed. — Ogygia, iiL c. 63, p. 323). The
settlement of the latter colony in Scotland is
mentioned by an ancient writer quoted by
Camden (Britania, tit. Scotia) in the following
words : " Fergus filius Eric fuit primus qui de
semine Chonaire suscepit regnum Albaniae a
Brunalban ad mare Hibernise, et Inse gall, et
inde reges de semine Fergus regnaverunt in
Brunalban, sive Brunehere usque ad Alpinum
tilium Eochaidh."

The settlement of the Scoti in North Britian
is mentioned, in the following words, by the
author of the Life of Cadroe, written about the
year 1040 :

" Fluxerunt quotanni, et mare sibi proximum
transfretantes Eveam Insulam, quse nunc lona
dicitur, repleverunt. Nee satis, post pelagus
Britannia contiguum, perlegentes, per Bosim
amnem, Eossiam regionem manserunt: Rigmo-
nath " [Dun Monaidh ?] " quoque Bellethor ur-
bes, a se procul positas, petentes, possessuri
vicerunt." — Colgan, Ada Sanctorum, p. 495.

* Ceannfeabhrat — This was the ancient name

of a part of the mountain of Sliabh Kiach to
the south of Kilmallock, on the confines of the
counties of Limerick and Cork — See A. D. 1579
and 1599. After the defeat of Maccon in the
battle of Ceannfeabhrat, by his step-father,
Oilioll Olum, he fled to Wales to solicit assist-
ance, and in some time after put into the Bay
of Galway, accompanied by Bene, a Briton,
and a great number of foreign auxiliaries ; and
seven days after his arrival (as Tighernach notes)
obtained a signal victory over King Art and
his forces.

* Oilioll Olum. — Dr. O'Conor translates this
name Olittus Archi-Poeta, but the ancient Irish
writers never understood it in that sense, for
they never write the word ollarii, a chief poet,
as Dr. O'Conor wishes to make it, but olum,
which they explain "of the bare ear," because his
ear was bit off by Aine, the daughter of a Tuatha-
De-Danann, named Eogabhal, as he was ravish-
ing her : " Inde factum est, ut Olillus Olumus
quod perinde est ac tempora spoliata auribus,
appellaretur." — Lynch. This lady, Aine, whose

P2

108

emeaNN.

[195.

Spoibcmo, 1 pop Dfipcepc nGpeann, ou hi cropcaip NemiD, mac Spoibcinn,
pf Gpna TTluman, i Oaofpa Opuch Oaipme, DO ceap ona Oaofpa la hGogan,
mac Oiliolla, Do ceap NemiD, mac Spoibjmn, la Caipbpe RigpoDa, mac
Conaipe, a nDiojail a achap .1. Conaipe buofin. T?o gon Caipbpe TTlupc
tughaib .1. TTlac Con ma colpca, gup bo bacach laporh. Ip 6 pdc an pop-
anma pin map Do bi Lujaib caicnerhac DO choin Do bf ace biacab a coilen
a ccij a oioeb, -| Do ibea6 ap ballan na con pempaice, gup lean TTlac

con DC.

Ctoip Cpiopc, ceo nochac acuicc. lap mbfich cpiocha bliabain In pije
nGpeann Ddpr,mac CmnnCeocachaig, copcaip hi ccach TnoisheTTlucpaime
la TTlac Con 50 na allmapcoib. Uopcparap beopipm each ceona mapaon pe
hQpc, meic a Sfcap Sambe ingine CuinD .1. peachc maca Oiliolla Oluim,
cangacnp laip i najaiD THic Con a nDfpbpacap, Goghan TTlop Oubmfpchon,
TTlujcopb, LughaiD, GochaiD, Dichopb, -| UaDcc a nanmanna,-| bemne 6pioc,
pi bpfcan po imip lama poppa. Uopchaip bfinDe la CujaiD Cagha a ccionaiD
a bpdirpec. Liojaipne Leacanpooa, mac Qengupa t>ailb, mic Gachach pmn-

father had been killed by Oilioll, resided at and
gave name to Cnoc-Aine, anglice Knockany,
near Bruff, in the county of Limerick, and is
now traditionally remembered as one of the
Banshees of the south of Ireland.

'Mac Con: i.e. Son of the Greyhound. Keat-
ing gives the same derivation : " Is in Olilli
domo ut ejus provignus, ut cujus matrem
Sabham Coni Centiprselii filiam Olillus uxorem
habebat, pusillus pusio versatus, et nondum
vestigia figere peritus ad Olilli canem venaticum,
Aquilam Eubram" [Glaip Oearij] " nomine
manibus repens accessit, et canis infantulum
ore soepius arripuif [recte, ad ubera sorbenda
accepit] " nee tamen ab assiduo ad euro accessu
coerceri potuit, quse res illi nomen Maccon pe-
rerit, quod perinde est ac canis venatici filius."
— Lynch.

This, however, is clearly the guess derivation
and elucidation of a posterior age. The word
mac con would certainly denote flius canis,
but it might also be figuratively used to denote

son of a hero ; and as his father's -name was
mac niab, son of a hero, it might not, perhaps,
be considered over presumptuous in an etymo-
logist of the present day to reject the story
about the greyhound bitch, and substitute a
modern conjecture in its place.

This Lughaidh Maccon was the head of the
Ithian race, and chief of the Munster sept called
Deirgthine. He is the ancestor of the family
of O'Driscoll, and from him the pedigree of Sir
Florence O'Driscoll, who flourished in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, is deduced by Duald Mac
Firbis in thirty generations. O'Driscoll is not
accounted of the Milesian race by the Irish ge-
nealogists, because he descended from Ith, the
uncle of Milidh, or Milesius.

a Magh-Mucruimhe This was the name of &

plain near Athenry, in the county of Galway.
O'Flaherty states (Ogygia, iii. c. 67) that the
place where King Art was killed, was called
Turlach-Airt in his (O'Flaherty's) time, and
situated between Moyvaela and Kilcornan in

195.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

109

Sroibhcinn ; and the south of Ireland ; where fell Nehnhidh, son of Sroibhcinn,
King of the Ernai of Munster ; and Dadera, the Druid of the Dairinni. Dadera
was slain by Eoghain, son of Oilioll ;' Neimhidh, son of Sroibhcinn, by Cairbre
Kioghf hoda, son of Conaire, in revenge of his own father, i. e. Conaire. Cairbre
Muse wounded Lughaidh, i. e. Mac Con, in the thigh, so that he was [ever]
afterwards lame. The cause of this cognomen was : Lughaidh was agreeable
to a greyhound that was suckling her whelps in the house of his foster-father,
and he was used to suckle the teat of the aforesaid greyhound, so that Mac Conz
[son of the greyhound] adhered to him [as a soubriquet].

The Age of Christ, 195. After Art, the son of Conn of the Hundred
Battles, had been thirty years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he fell in the battle
of Magh-Mucruimhe", by Maccon and his foreigners. In the same battle, along
with Art, fell also the sons of his sister, Sadhbh, daughter of Conn, namely, the
seven sons of Oilioll Olum, who had come with him against Maccon, their
brother. Eoghan Morb, Dubhmerchon, Mughcorb, Lughaidh, Eochaidh, Dio-
chorb, and Tadhg, were their names ; and Beinne Brit, King of Britain, was he
who laid [violent] hands upon them. Beinne was slain by Lughaidh Lagha, in
revenge of his relatives. Lioghairne0 of the Long Cheeks, son of Aenghus

Aidhne — See the Map to Tribes and Customs
of Hy-Many; and Hardiman's edition of O'Fla-
herty's lar-Connaught, p. 43, note *.

b Eoghan MOT. — He is the ancestor of all the
great families of Munster and elsewhere, called
Eoghanachts by the Irish genealogists. All his
brothers died without issue except Cormac Cas,
the ancestor of the O'Briens of Thomond, and
all the Dal g-Cais, and Cian, the ancestor of
O'Carroll, O'Meagher, and other families called
Cianachta, seated in various parts of Ireland.

' Lioghairne — O'Flaherty calls him Ligurnus.
When Art, the son of Conn of the Hundred
Battles, succeeded Conaire II. as Monarch of
Ireland, he banished his uncle, Eochaidh Finn-
fothart, and his sons, from Meath, because they
had assassinated his brothers, Conla and Crina,
and betrayed his father to the Ulstermen.
Eochaidh, being married to Uchdelbha, the

granddaughter of Cathaeir Mor, proceeded into
Leinster, and the king of that province bestowed
upon him and his sons certain districts called
by posterity Fotharta, from Eochaidh's surname.
Of these the two principal were Fotharta-an-
Chairn, now the barony of Forth, in the county
of Wexford, and Fotharta-Fea, now the barony
of Forth, in the county of Carlorw. There were
also Fothart-Airbhreach, near the hill of Bri-
Eile, now the hill of Croghan, in the King's
County ; Fotharta Airthir Liffe, in the present
county of Kildare, and others ; but his race
became extinct or obscure at an early period in
all the districts called Fotharta, except Fotharta-
Fea, where his descendant, O'Nolan, retained
considerable possessions till the seventeenth cen-
tury.

Incensed at this expulsion of his family,
Boghairne joined the foreign forces of.Maccon

no

eiraeanw.

[196.

puachnaipr, po imbip lama pop Qpr ipm carh fin TTloishe TTluccpoirhe, mp
ccochc DO hi pochpaiDe TDic Con.

CU>ip Cpiopc, ceo nochar ape. Qn ceo bliaDam Do LujoiD, (.1. TTIac Con)
mac TTlaicniaD, hi pijhe nGpeann.

Cloip Cpiopc, oa ceo piche acuij. lap mbfic cpiocha bliaDain i pighe
nGpeann DO LujhaiD (.1. TTIac Con), mac TTlaicniaD, copcaip Do laim pfipcip,
mic Comain Gap, lap na lonnapbaD a Ufmpaij Do Copmac ua Chuinn.

doip Cpiopr, Da cheo piche ape. PQijur Ouibbeoach, mac lomchaDha,
napijopGpinn ppi pe mblia6na,co ccopchaip, hi ccacCpionna, la Copbmac
ua Cuino, Do laim Lojha ^agha. Uopcpacap taip beop a Da bparhaip,
pfpjap poilcleabap, -] Pepjup boc, cap bpfgaib, Da ngoipn Pfps"r Cair
piaclach. Ip Doib po paioheao :

pop an aoinlicc 05 Raic cpo
poipcbe na crpi ppfpjupo,
acbfpc Copbmac ap gle
ni chel a Dae pop Laighe.

1 pochpaiDe Copbmaic cainic UaDg macCein -| tujaiD Don chach hipin,
1 ba i cippocpaic an chacha Do paca o Chopbmac DO UhaDj; an pfponn poppa
cca Ciannachca, i TTluij 6pfj, amail ap epbeipc i leabpaib oile.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da cheD piche a peachc. Ctn ceD bliaDam Do Copbmac,
mac Qipc, mic Cuinn CheDchachaij, na pij op Gpintr.

against his relative Art, and had the killing of
him with his own hand, at Turlach Airt, as
stated in note u, supra.

d Thirty years — The Annals of Clonmacnoise
give Maccon a reign of only eighteen years ;
O' Flaherty shortens it to three years ; but Dr.
O'Conor does not regard him as one of the
monarchs of Ireland.

e He fell. — Keating states that Fercheas, a
poet who resided at Cnocach, killed Maccon, at
the instance of King Cormac, with a kind of
lance called rincne, at Gort-an-oir, near Dear-
grath, in Magh-Feimhean, while he (Maccon)
was bestowing gold and silver on the literati of

Ireland. This place is still pointed out near the
fort of Dearg-rath, in the parish of Derrygrath,
about four miles to the north-east of Cahir, in
the county of Tipperary. Cnocach, called, in the
Leabhar-Gabhala, Ard-Feirchis, is now anglice
Knockagh, and is situated about three miles
north-east of Cahir.

f Crinna — Keating calls this place Crionna-
Chinn Chumair, and says that it is situated at
Brugh-mic-an-Oig, which is the name of a place
on the River Boyne, near Stackallan Bridge.

8 Rathcro. — This place is near Slane, in the
county of Meath.

b Ciannachta, inMagh-Breagh. — The territory

196.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

Ill

Balbh, son of Eochaidh Finn Fuathairt, was he who laid [violent] hands upon
Art in this battle of Magh-Mucruimhe, after he had joined the forces of Maccon.

The Age of Christ, -196. The first year of Lughaidh, i. e. Maccon, son of
Maicniadh, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 225. After Lughaidh, i. e. Maccon, son of Macniadh,
had been thirty years" in the sovereignty of Ireland, he fellc by the hand of
Feircis, son of Coman Eces, after he had been expelled from Teamhair [Tara]
by Cormac, the grandson of Conn.

The Age of Christ, 226. Fearghus Duibhdeadach, son of Imchadh, was
king over Ireland for the space of a year, when he fell in the battle of Crinnaf,
by Cormac, grandson of Conn, by the hand of Lughaidh Lagha. There fell by
him also, [in the rout] across Breagh, his two brothers, Fearghus the Long-
haired and Fearghus the Fiery, who was called Fearghus Caisf hiaclach [of the
Crooked Teeth]. Of them was said :

Upon the one stone at Kathcro*
Were slain the three Fearghus's ;
Cormac said this is fine,
His hand did not fail Laighe.

In the army of Cormac came Tadhg, son of Cian, and Lughaidh, to that
battle ; and it was as a territorial reward for the battle that Cormac gave to
Tadhg the land on which are the Ciannachta, in Magh-Breagh", as is celebrated
in other books.

The Age of Christ, 227. The first year of Cormac, son of Art, son of
Conn of the Hundred Battles, as king over Ireland.

of this tribe extended from the River Liffey to
near Drumiskin, in the county of Louth. Duleek,
in the county of Meath, is mentioned as in it.
Keating gives a curious story about Tadhg mac
Cein, from the historical tale called Cath Crinna,
but some of its details are rather legendary. It
is, however, true as to the main facts ; for it is
stated in the Annals of Tighernach that Tadhg
obtained as a reward for defeating the Ulster-
men on this occasion, the whole region extending
from Glais-Neara, near Druim-Ineascluinn (now

Drumiskin, in the present county of Louth), to
the Cnoca Maeildoid, at the River Lifiey. —
See Ann. Tigher., p. 45 ; Keating's History of
Ireland, in the reign of Fearghus Duibhdea-
dach ; and O'Flaherty's Ogygia, iii. c. 68. This
Tadhg is the ancestor of O'Carroll of Ely, in
the south of the King's County ; of O'Meagher
of Ui-Cairin, or Ikerrin, in the county of Tip-
perary ; of O'Cathasaigh (O'Casey) of Saithne,
in Magh Breagh ; and of O'Conor, Chief of
Cianachta-Gleanna- G-eimbin, now the barony

112

Riogbachca

[234.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da cheo cpiochac a cfchaip. Q hochc DO Chopbmac.
dili II Olom.mac TYlogha Nuaohac, pi ITlurtian, 065.

doip Cpiopc, oa cheo cpiochac a pe. d Dech <oo Chopbmac. Cach
^panaipo pia cCopbmac ua cCuinn pop Ulcoib an bliabainpi. Car in h6u
hi rnoijh del pop deb, mac Gachoach, mic Conaill, pi Connachc. Cach
i nGch, each Cinn Oaipe, cac Spucha pop Ulcoib, each Slicche Cuailnge.

doip Cpiopc, Da cheo cpiochac a pfchc. d haon Oecc Do Chopbmac.
Cach dcha beuchaig. Cach Racha Duma an bliabainpi pia cCopbmac.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da cheo cpiochac a hochc. Q Do Decc Do Copbmac. Cach
Chuile cocaip po cpf, -| cpi cacha hi nOubab pia cCopbmac.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da cheo cpiochac anaoi. Q cpi Decc Do Chopbmac. Cach
ailamaij, 1 pfchc ccacha Glne pi cCopbmac.

doip Cpiopc, Da cheo cfchpacac. d cfchaip Decc Do Chopbmac. Cach
TTloijhe Cechc, -\ loingCp Chopbmaic cap maij Ren (.1. cap an ppaipge) an
bliabam pin, coniD Don chup pin po jabapcaippiom pishe ndlban.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da cheD cfcpachac a haon. Q cuig Decc Do Chopbmac.
Qcciao anopo cacha Chopbmaic pop TTlumain an bliabainpi. Cach beippe,
each Cocha Len, each Luimnij, each 5rene> cac^ Clapaij, each TTluipipc,

of Keenaght, in the county of Londonderry.
He is also the ancestor of the families of O'Gara
and O'Hara in Connaught, and of O'Hara of
the Koute, in the county of Antrim.

' Granard.—Novr a small town in the county
of Longford, near which is a large moat — See
Ogygia, iii. 69, p. 335. See note °, under A. D.
1262. These battles, fought by Cormac, are
also mentioned in the Annals of Tighernach.

k Eu, in Magh-Aei. — In the Annals of Tigher-
nach the reading is Cac TTleoa, i. e. the Battle
of Knockmaa, which is a hill in the barony of
Clare, county Galway.

1 Eth Not identified.

m Geann-Daire : i. e. Head of the Oak Wood.
Not identified.

n Sntfh — This should be Car Spucpa, i. e.
the battle of Shrule, a place on the River
Suithair, or Shrule, in the south-east of the
county of Louth. — See Ogygia, iii. 69, p. 335.

0 Slighe- Cuailgne : i. e. the road or pass of
Cuailgne, which is a mountainous district still
so called, in the north of the county of Louth.

" Ath-Beatha : i. e. Ford of the Birch. This
was probably the ancient name of Ballybay
(6aile ara benca), in the county of Monaghan.

* Dumha : i. e. tumulus. There are countless
places of this name in Ireland.

1 Cuil-tochair : i. e. Corner or Angle of the
Causeway. Not identified.

s Dubhadh. — Now Dowth, on the Boyne, in
the county of Meath, where there is a remark-
able mound, 286 feet high, which is one of the
monuments of the Tuatha-De-Dananns. In the
Annals of Tighernach the reading is, i nt)uiBpi6.

' Allamagh. — Probably intended for Eala-
mhagh, i. e. the plain of the Eiver Allo, in the
county of Cork.

u Elve — Now Sliabh Eilbhe, anglice Slieve-
Ilva, a mountain in the parish of Killonaghan,

234.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 113

The Age of Christ, 234. The eighth year of Cormac. Oilioll Olum, son
of Mogh Nuadhat, King of Munster, died.

The Age of Christ, 236. The tenth year of Cormac. The battle of Gra-
nard' by Cormac, the grandson of Conn, against the Ulstermen this year. A
battle at Eu, in Magh-Aeik, against Aedh, son of Eochaidh, son of Conall, King
of Connaught. A battle at Eth1 ; the battle of Ceann-Daire1"; the battle of Sruth"
against the Ulstermen ; the battle of Slighe-Cuailgne0.

The Age of Christ, 237. The eleventh year of Cormac. The battle of
Ath-Beathap; the battle of Dumhaq this year by Cormac.

The Age of Christ, 238. The twelfth year of Cormac. A battle at Cuil-
tochairr thrice, and three battles at Dubhadh8 by Cormac.

The Age of Christ, 239. The thirteenth year of Cormac. The battle of
Allamagh', and the seven battles of Elve", by Cormac.

The Age of Christ, 240. The fourteenth year of Cormac. The battle of
Magh-Techt", and the fleet of Cormac [sailed] across Magh-Rein1 (i. e. across
the sea), this year, so that it was on that occasion he obtained the sovereignty
of Alba [Scotland].

The Age of Christ, 241. The fifteenth year of Cormac. These are the
battles of Cormac [fought] against Munster this year : the battle of Berrey; the
battle of Loch Lein1; the battle of Luimneach"; the battle of Grianb; the battle
of Classach0; the battle of Muiresc"; the battle of Fearta", in which fell Eochaidh

barony of Burren, and county of Clare. y Berre.— See A. M. 3575, 3579, 3656, supra.

w Magh-Techt. — See A. M. 3529, 3656. * Loch Lein See A. M. 3579, supra.

* Magk-Rein: i. e. the Plain of the Sea. l?ian, * Luimneach. — Now Limerick. This was ori-

gen. pem, is an old word for sea, and is glossed ginally the name of the Lower Shannon. — See

"muip" by O'Clery. This passage is taken Ada Sanctorum, by the Bolandists, 3rd May,

from the Annals of Tighernach. O'Flaherty p. 380, and Life of St. Senanus by Colgan.

understands this passage as follows : " Magnam b Grian. — There are several places of this name

classem trans mare in septentrionalem Britan- in Ireland, but the place here alluded to is pro-

niam misit, qua triennii spacio eas oras infes- bably the hill of Cnoc-Greine, i. e. the Hill of

tante imperium in Albania exegit." But the Grian, over the village of Pallasgrean, in the

word lomjeap, in ancient Irish, means expul- barony of Coonagh, and county of Limerick.

sion or banishment (lomjjeap .1. lonj^ap .1. ion- " Classach Not identified. There are many

nctpbab — G'Clery), and the passage might be places of the name in Ireland,

translated thus: "The expulsion of Cormac d Muiresc. — See A. M. 3501, 3790.

across the sea this year, and it was on this occa- e Fearta Not identified. There are several

sion that he obtained the sovereignty of Alba." places so called.

114

eiReawi.

[248.

each pfpca hi copchoip Gochaib Uaobpooa, mac Oiliolla Oluim, car Sariina
hi copcaip Cian, mac Qileallo Oluim.i cac QpDa caim.

Opsain na hmgCnpaije, ipin Claoinpfpca hi cUfmpaij, la Ounlang, mac
enna Niab, pf Laigfn. Cpiocha pijingfn a Ifon, ~\ ceo ingfn la gach mnjin
Diob. Oa pfj Decc DO Laijmb pop bf Copbmac ap jalaib aoinpip, i noiojail
na hoipjne hipin, amailli pe popnaibm na bopama co na copmach lap
cUuachal.

Cfoip Cpiopc, Da cheD i cfcpachac a hochc. Q Do pichfc Do Chopbmac.
Cach hi pochaipD TTluipcemne pia cCopbmac an bliabampi.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da ceo pfpcca a Do. Q pe cpiocha Do Chopbmac. Cach
Cpionna ppejabail pia cCopbmac pop Ullcoib, ou hi ccopcaip Qongup Pionn,
mac pfpjupa OuibDeaDaij, pf UlaD, 50 nap UlaD imme.

Ctoip Cpiopc, Da cheo peapca a 01115. Q naoi cpiocha Do Chopbmac.
^uin Ceallaij, mic Chopbmaic.i T?fchcaipe Chopbmaic, -| puil Chopbmaic
buDfin DO bpipfoh oaen popccom la hQenjup ^a'ouaibceach, mac piachach
Suijoe, mic pfiblimib 17eachnaba. Ro bpip lapam Copbmac peace ccaca
popp na Oeipib a ccionaiD an jnioma pin, 50 pop capainn 6 a ccfp, conup
pilio hi TTlumain.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da ceo peapcc a pe. Cfcpacha bliabain DO Copbmac, mac
Qipc, mic Cuino, hi pige nGpeann 50 bpuaip bap i cClecec mp lenmain cnaim

f Samhain. — Now Cnoc-Samhna, near Bru-
ree, in the county of Limerick — See A. M. 4169,
supra.

8 Ard-cam: i. e. Crooked Height or Hill. Not
identified.

" Claenfearta This was a place at Tara, on

the western slope of the hill — See Petrie's An-
tiquities of Tara Hill, p. 128, and map, plate 1.
O'Flaherty understands this passage as follows,
in his Ogygia, iii. c. 69.

" Dunlongius Ennii Niadh filius Cathirii Re-
gis Hiberniae abnepos rex Lagenia; Temorense
apud Cloenfertam gynoeceum immani feritate
adortus, triginta regias puellas cum trecentis
ancillis famulantibus ad unum internecione de-
levit. Quocirca Cormacus rex duodecim La-
genise dynastas parthenicidii conacios morte

plexit, et Boariam Tuathalii regis mulctam La-
geniis cum accessione imperavit."

' Borumha. — See an account of this impost
under the reign of Tuathal Teachtmhar, supra,
A. D. 106.

k Pochard Muirtheimhne Now Faughard, in

the county of Louth, about two miles to the
north of Dundalk — See A. D. 1595, 1596.

1 Crionna-Fregabhail. — Dr. O'Conor renders
this Crinna partum, taking ppejaBail to be a
verb, from jaBail; but it was certainly the an-
cient name of a place on the Eiver Fregabhail,
now the Ravel Water, in the county Antrim. —
See A. M. 3510, supra. Tighernach places this
battle in the year 251.

m Aenghus Gaibhuaib/itheach: i.e. Aenghus of
the terrible Spear.

248.] ' ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 115

Taebhfada [of the Long Side], son of Oilioll Olum ; the battle of Samhainf, in
which fell Cian, son of Oilioll Olum ; and the battle of Ard-camK.

The massacre of the girls at Cleanfearta", at Teamhair, by Dunlang, son of
Enna Niadh, King of Leinster. Thirty royal girls was the number, and a
hundred maids with each of them. Twelve princes of the Leinstermen did
Cormac put to death together, in revenge of that massacre, together with the
exaction of the Borumha' with an increase after Tuathal.

The Age of Christ, 248. The twenty-second year of Cormac. A battle at
Fochard Muirtheimhne" by Cormac this year. The battle of Crionna-Frega-
bhail1 [was fought] by Cormac against the Ulstermen, where fell Aenghus Finn,
son of Fearghus Duibhdeadach [i.e. the Black-toothed], King of Ulster, with
the slaughter of the Ulstermen about him.

The Age of Christ, 265. The thirty-ninth year of Cormac. Ceallach, son
of Cormac, and Cormac's lawgiver, were mortally wounded, and the eye of
Cormac himself was destroyed with one thrust [of a lance] by Aenghus Gaibh-
uaibhtheachm, son of Fiacha Suighdhe, son of Feidhlimidh the Lawgiver.
Cormac afterwards [fought and] gained seven battles over the Deisi, in revenge
of that deed, and he expelled them from their territory, so that they are [now]
in Munster11.

The Age of Christ, 266. Forty years was Cormac, son of Art, son of
Conn, in the sovereignty of Ireland, when he died at Cleiteach0, the bone of a

n In Munster. — The Deisi, who were the de- to which territory they gave the name of that
scendants of Fiacha Suighdhe, the brother of which they had in Meath. Aenghus Mac Nad-
Conn of the Hundred Battles, were first seated fraeich, King of Munster, afterwards gave them
in the territory of Deisi-Teamhrach, now the the plain of Magh-Feimheann, now the barony
barony of Deece, in the county of Meath, and of Iffa and Ofia, East, which they retained till
when they were driven from thence by King the period of the English Invasion. For the
Cormac, they proceeded into Leinster, where names of the 'families into which this tribe
they remained for one year, and afterwards re- branched after the establishment of surnames,
moved into Ossory, but effected no permanent see note *, under A. D. 1205.
settlement anywhere until they went to Mnn- ° Cleiteach. — The situation of this house is
ster, where Oilioll Olum, king of that province, described in the historical tale entitled Oighidh
who was married to Sadhbh (Sabina), daughter Mhuircheartaigh Mhoir mhic Earca, as fol-
of Conn of the Hundred Battles, gave them a lows :

territory comprised in the present county of " 6a mairpuloiujubm ciji r1" cpa, op up na

Waterford, and extending from the River Suir 66mne bpaoanuiji bicaille, -\ op up an 6hpoja

to the sea, and from Lismore to Credan Head, bapp-uame."

Q2

116

[266.

bpaocnn ma bpajair, cpep an piabpab poimip mailjenn Opai paip.iap niom-
po6 DO Copbmac ap na opaoinb po bian abapca Oe Do caippib. Conab
aipe pin po aimpij oiabal eipium cpe pupailearh na nopuab 50 ccuc bap
Dochpaib Do. C( pe Copbmac Do rpachc cegupcc na pijh DO comoa mob,
bep.n pollamnaijce na pi£e. UgDap oipbepc eipibe i nolijrib, hi ccoimjmb,
1 hi pfncup, ap ape po pfol pfchc, piajail, i DipgiaraD gacha haoi, -] cfcha
cainsne lap ccoip, conab he an DlijeaD po pmachc pop chdch baoi pop conj-
bail leo gup an aimpip ppeacnaipc.

a pe an Copbmac po, mac Qipc, beop po nonoil cpomicibe Gpeann co
haon maijin 50 Ufmpaij, gup po popcongaip poppo cpoinic Gpeann Do
pcpfobaD in nen liubap Dap bo hainm ppalcaip Uempach. ba hipin Imbap
pin bacap coimjneaDa -\ comaimpepa piojpaibe Gpeann ppi pfojaib -| impi-
peaDa an Domain, •] pioj na ccoicceaD ppf pfojaib 6peann. Qp ann Dna po
pcpiobaD ina nolijpeaD pi Gpeann Do na coicce&achaib •] ciop -| olijfo na
ccoicceaD o a pomdmaighcib o ra uapal cohfpeal. 6a han rpa baoi cpioch
1 copann Gpeann op ino op, o chd cuicceab co cuair, 6 cuaic co baile, -\

" Good, indeed, was the situation of that
house (sc. of Cleiteach) over the margin of the
saimonful, ever-beautiful Boyne, and over the
verge of the green-topped Brugh."

It was situated near Stackallan Bridge, on the
south side of the Boyne.

p Teagusc-na-Righ " Cormack wasabsolutely

the best king that ever reigned in Ireland before
himself. He wrote a book entitled Princely
Institutions, which, in Irish, is called Teasgasg
Ei, which book contains as goodly precepts and
moral documents as Cato or Aristotle did ever
write." — Ann. Clon.

Copies of this work, ascribed to King Cormac,
are preserved in the Book of Leinster (in Lib.
T. C. D., H. 2. 18), and in the Book of Bally-
mote ; and translated extracts from it are given
in the Dublin Penny Journal, vol. i. pp. 213, 214,
215, and 231, 232.

q Laws. — For an account of the laws insti-
tuted by King Cormac, see the Stowe Catalogue,
and Petrie's History and Antiquities of Tara Hill,

pp. 16-20.

' Psalter of Teamhair. — This Psalter is re-
ferred to in a poem by Cuan O'Lochain, who
flourished in the eleventh century, but no frag-
ment of it has been identified as now remaining.
A copy, indeed, of the Book of Ballymote, with
some additions made by Teige O'Naghten, now
preserved in the Library of Trinity College,
Dublin, H. 1. 15, bears the title of Salcaip
na Ceampac; but this name was given it by
O'Naghten himself, for no reason except that it
contains articles relating to Irish laws, genea-
logy, history, topography, &c. .«.•'.'

O'Flaherty quotes a poem beginning Ceum-
mp na jnogh pach Copmaic, i. e. Teamhair of
the Kings, fort of Cormac, which, among other
things, he says, describes three schools insti-
tuted by King Cormac at Tara, namely, one for
teaching military dicipline, another for history,
and the third for jurisprudence. This was
preserved in O'Duvegan's Book of Hy-Many,
fol. 1 75 ; but no copy of it has been discovered

266.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

117

salmon sticking in his throat, on account of the siabhradh [genii] which Mael-
genn, the Druid, incited at him, after Cormac had turned against the Druids,
on account of his adoration of God in preference to them. Wherefore a devil
attacked him, at the instigation of the Druids, and gave him a painful death.
It was Cormac who composed Teagusc-na-Righp, to preserve manners, morals,
and government in the kingdom. He was a famous author in lawsq, synchro-
nisms, and history, for it was he that established law, rule, and direction for
each science, and for each covenant according to propriety ; and it is his laws
that governed all that adhered to them to the present time.

It was this Cormac, son of Art, also, that collected the Chroniclers of Ire-
land to Teamhair, and ordered them to write the chronicles of Ireland in one
book, which was named the Psalter of TeamhairV In that book were [entered]
the coeval exploits and synchronisms of the kings of Ireland with the kings
and emperors of the world, and of the kings of the provinces with the mo-
narchs of Ireland. In it was also written what the monarchs of Ireland were
entitled to [receive] from the provincial kings, and the rents and dues of the
provincial kings from their subjects, from the noble to the subaltern. In it
also were [described] the boundaries and meares of Ireland, from shore to
shore, from the province to the cantred, from the cantred to the townland, and

in Dublin, Oxford, or the British Museum.

It looks very strange that neither the Four
Masters nor Tighernach make any special men-
tion of Cormac's expedition into Munster, against
Fiacha Muilleathan, king of that province, of
which expedition the historical tale called For-
bais-Droma-Damhghaire (i. e. the encampment
of Druim-Damhghaire, now Knocklong, in the
county of Limerick), preserved in the Book of
Lismore, fol. 169; and Keating, in his History
of Ireland; and the Book of Lecan, fol. 133, a,
give such minute particulars. On this occasion
the Druid, Mogh Ruith, the ancestor of the
O'Dugans of Fermoy, displayed wondrous ma-
gical powers in supplying the Munster forces
with water, and a spring well which he caused
to issue from the earth by discharging a magical
javelin is still pointed out. The inhabitants of

this neighbourhood also believe that he caused
the sun to stand still for a whole hour, to enable
the forces of Leath-Chuinn to dislodge Cormac
from his entrenchment at Knocklong. Cormac
was completely routed and pursued into Ossory,
where he was obliged to deliver up pledges or
hostages to Fiacha, as security for making re-
paration for the injuries done to Munster by
this expedition.

" Turn Fiachus valido impetu Cormaci exer-
citum aggressus, eum fudit et fugavit. Imo
adeo acriter fugientium tergis ad Ossiriam us([ue
institit, ut Cormacum adegerit pacisci obsides
se Teamoria missurum ad Fiachum tamdiu
apud eum mansuros, donee illatum Momonias
damnum cumulate resarciret." — Lynch.

The truth is that the annalists of Leath-
Chuinn pass over the affairs of Munster very

118

[267-

o baile 50 cpaijib DO chip [oipoepc na neichipi i Leabap na h-Ui6pi. Gp
pollup lace i Leabap Oinnpenchupa].

Goip Cpiopc, oa ceo peapcca a peachc. 6n bbabain oGochaiD ^onoac
hi pije nGpeann 50 ccopchaip la Cujjaio TTlfiiD, mac Qongupa, oUllcoib.

Ctoip Cpiopc, Da ceo peapcca a hochc. Ctn ceo bbabain DO Caipppe
Lippechaip, mac Copmaic, mic Gipc, hi pije nGpeann.

Ctoip Cpiopc, Da ceo pfchcmojac a haon. Q cfcaip Do Caipbpe. Upi
caca pia cCoipppe pop piopu TTluman 05 copnam cipc Laijfn.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da ceo peaccmojac a Do. Ct cuicc DO Coipppe. Ceicpe
caca la Coipbpe pop piojia TTluman 05 copnam cipc taijfn.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da ceo peaccmojac a pe. Q naoi DO Coipppe i pighe
nGpeann. Oengup 5aibuaibceach DO mapbao an bliaoainpi la cloinnCaipbpe
Lippechaip .1. piacha Spaibcme ~\ GochaiD Ooirhlen.

Ctoip Cpiopc, Da ceo ochcmojac a cpf. Q pe Decc DO Caipbpe. pionn
Ua baipccne DO cuicim la hQichlfch iinac Ouibopfnn, -] la macoib UipgpfnD,
DO Luaijnib Uempac, occ Qch bpea pop 66inn, oia noebpao.

slightly, and seem unwilling to acknowledge
any triumph of their's over the race of Conn of
the Hundred Battles; and this feeling was mu-
tual on the part of the race of Oilioll Olum.

s Traighidh of land. — O'Flaherty translates
this passage as follows :

" Ex hac Schola prodiit liber, quod Psalterium
Tomorense dicimus, in quo congestis in unum
patrise archivis, supremorum, et provincialium
regum series, ac tempora cum exteris Synchronis
principibus collata, tributa quoque, et vectigalia
provincialium monarchis debita, nee non metse,
ac limites cuj usque regionis a provincia ad ter-
ritoria, a territorio ad pagos, a pago ad pagi
particulas" [cpaijib bo cip] "continebantur."
— Ogygia, iii. c. 69-

1 Leabhar na-h Uidkri. — The passage inserted
in the text in brackets is not in either of the
Dublin copies, but it has been added from Dr.
O'Conor's edition, p. 87. A considerable frag-
ment of Leabhar na-h- Uidhri is now preserved
in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy.

' u Leabhar Dinnsenchusa — Of this work, which
gives derivations of the names of remarkable
hills, forts, and plains in Ireland, there are
copies in the Books of Lecan and Ballymote, and
in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, H. 2.
15, and H. 3. 3.

'"Eochaidh Gonnat. — He is enumerated among
the monarchs of Ireland in the Annals of Clon-
macnoise, and by all the modern writers. Tigher-
nach, however, does not mention him, but makes
Cairbre Liffechair succeed his father.

x Cairbre Liffeachair. — Keating says that he
was so called because he was fostered near the
Eiver Liffey.

i Eochaidh Doimhlen — He is the ancestor of
all the Oirghialla, in Ulster, and of the O'Kellys
of Connaught and their correlative families.

1 Finn, grandson of Baisgne. — This passage is
also given by Tighernach. The Finn here men-
tioned is the celebrated champion called Fingal
by Mac Pherson, and Finn Mac Cumhail by the
Irish, of whom Mr. Moore has the following

267-]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

119

from the townland to the traighidh of land8. [These things are celebrated in
Leabhar na-n-Uidhri'. They are evident in the Leabhar Dinnsenchusa".]

The Age of Christ, 267. Eochaidh Gonnat" in the sovereignty of Ireland,
when he fell by Lughaidh Meann, son of Aenghus, [one] of the Ulstermen.

The Age of Christ, 268. The first year of Cairbre Liffeachair", son of
Cormac, son of Art, in the sovereignty of Ireland. •

The Age of Christ, 271. The fourth year of Cairbre. Three battles [were
fought] by Cairbre against the men of Munster, in defence of the rights of
Leinster.

The Age of Christ, 272. Four battles by Cairbre against the men of
Munster, in defence of the rights of Leinster.

The Age of Christ, 276. The ninth year of Cairbre in the sovereignty of
Ireknd. Aenghus Gaibuaibhtheach was killed this year by the sons of Cairbre
Liffechair, namely, Fiacha Sraibhtine and Eochaidh Doimhlen*.

The Age of Christ, 283. The sixteenth year of Cairbre. Finn, grandson
of Baisgne2, fell by Aichleach, son of Duibhdreann, and the sons of Uirgreann
of the Luaighni Teamhrach, at Ath-Brea, upon the Boinn [Boyne], of which
was said :

remarks in his History of Ireland, vol. i. p. 133:
" It has been the fate of this popular Irish
hero, after a long course of traditional renown
in his country, where his name still lives, not
only in legends and songs, but in the yet more
indelible record of scenery connected with his
memory, to have been all at once transferred
by adoption to another country" [Scotland],
" and start, under a new but false shape, in a
fresh career of fame."

This celebrated warrior, who had two grand
residences in Leinster, one at Almhuin, now the
hill of Allen, in the county of Kildare, and the
other at Magh-Elle, now Moyelly, in the King's
County, was the son-in-law of King Cormac, and
general of his standing army, which, as Pinker-
ton remarks, seems to have been in imitation of
the Roman legions. The words of this critical
writer are worth quoting here :

" He seems," says he, " to have been a man

of great talents for the age, and of celebrity in
arms. His formation of a regular standing
army, trained to war, in which all the Irish
accounts agree, seems to have been a rude imi-
tation of the Roman legions in Britain. The
idea, though simple enough, shews prudence,
for such a force alone could have coped with
the Romans had they invaded Ireland. But
this machine, which surprised a rude age, and
seems the basis of all Finn's fame, like some
other great schemes, only lived in its author,
and expired soon after him." — Inquiry into the
History of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 77.

The bands of kernes and galloglaghs or gal-
lowglasses, supported by the Irish chieftains of
later ages, may have been imitations of these
more primitive Fians, who are still so vividly
remembered in the traditions of the people,
while the kernes and gallowglasses are nearly
forgotten.

120

[284.

l?o bich PI no, ba Do jaib,
50 noiach jinn,

DO all Qichleach mac DuibDpeno
a cfnn Do mac TTlochcamuin.

TThnbaD Cailci copccaip,
DO bu buaiD ap cech pfpjliaiD,
17o baoh copccpach lap in cpiap
ilach im chfnn inD pig niaoh.

Ctoip Cpiopc, Da ceo ochcmojac a cfcaip. lap mbfic peace mbliaDna
Decc hi pfje nSpeann Do Caipbpe Lippechaip DO cfp i ccac ^abpa Qicle, Do
laim Semeoin, nnc Cipb, Do pocopcaib, lap cabaipc na pene opiopcopb, mac
Copmaic Caip, laip mo ogham an pi'gh DO copnam Leire TTloja ppip.

Ctoip Cpiopc, Da ceD ochcmojac a cuicc. 6n bliaDmn Don Da pochaD
op Gpmn, 50 ccopcaip pocab Cappcec la ponhab nQipsceach. Oo ceap
ID Qipccceach lap pin hi ccac Ollapba hi Line la Caoilce.

a curious poem, ascribed to Oisin, on the sub-
ject of this battle, preserved in the Book of
Leinster, fol. 25, b, in which it is stated that
Osgar, the son of Oisin, slew King Cairbre, with
a thrust of a lance. This is partly true, but
Osgar himself was also slain in the combat ; and,
according to other accounts, Semeon, one of the
Fotharta of Leinster, was the person who de-
spatched Cairbre. ;K ,<

c Moghcorb, son of Cormac Gas. — This prince
was the principal opponent of the monarch, and
not the Clanna-Baisgne, or Irish militia, as
stated by modern popular writers. Since Eoghan
Taidhleach, or Mogh Nuadhat, the grandfather
of Cormac Cas, had been murdered in his tent
by Goll, the son of Morna, at the battle of Magh-
Leana, the kings of Munster cherished the most
rancorous hatred against the Clanna-Morna, who
were a military tribe of the Firbolgs of Con-
naught; and in order to be revenged of them
they formed an alliance with the Clanna-Baisgne,
another military tribe of the Scotic or Milesian
race, the most distinguished chief of whom was

a Wifh darts. — The following words are inter-
lined in the text: ".l. Do nagaib lapccaich po
jjonao e ;" i. e. " by the fishing gaffs he was
wounded." It is stated in the Dublin copy of
the Annals of Innisfallen that Finn Mao Cum-
hail, the celebrated general of the Irish militia,
fell by the hands of Athlach, son of Duibhdrenn,
a treacherous fisherman, who [fired with the love
of everlasting notoriety] slew him with his gaff
at Rath-Breagha, near the Boyne, whither he
had retired in his old age to pass the remainder
of his life in tranquillity. That Athlach was
soon after beheaded by Caeilte Mac Eonain, the
relative and faithful follower of Finn.

h Galhra-Aichle : i. e. Gabhra of Aichill, so
called from its contiguity to Aichill, now the
hill of Skreen, near Tara, in the county of Meath.
Gabhra, anglice Gowra, is now the name of a
stream which rises in a bog in the townland of
Prantstown, in the parish of Skreen, receives a
tribute from the well of Neamhnach on Tara
Hill, joins the River Skene atDowthstown, and
unites with the Boyne at Ardsallagh. There is

284.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

121

Finn was killed, it was with darts",
With a lamentable wound ;
Aichleach, son of Duibhdreann, cut off
The head of the son of Mochtamuin.

Were it not that Caeilti took revenge,

It would have been a victory after all his true battles ;

The three were cut off by him,

Exulting over the head of the royal champion.

The Age of Christ, 284. After Cairbre Liffeachair had been seventeen
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he fell in the battle of Gabhra-Aichleb, by
the hand of Semeon, son of Cearb, [one] of the Fotharta ; Fearcorb, the son
of Cormac Casc, having brought the Fiana with him, against the king, to defend
Leath-Mhogha against him.

The Age of Christ, 285. Fothadh was one year over Ireland, when Fo-
thadh Cairptheach was slain by Fothadh Airgtheach. Fothadh Airgtheach
was afterwards slain in the battle of Ollarba, in Magh-Line", by Caeilte6.

Finn Mac Cumhail. Cormac Cas, King of Mun-
ster, married Samhair, the daughter of this war-
rior, and had by her three sons : Tine and Connla,
of whose issue no account is preserved, and Mogh-
corb, the ancestor of the celebrated Brian Bo-
rumha, who inherited all the valour and heroism
of Finn, his ancestor. After the death of Finn,
Cairbre disbanded and outlawed the forces of the
Clanna-Baisgne, and retained in his service the
Clanna-Morna only. The Clanna-Baisgne then
repaired to Munster, to their relative Moghcorb,
who retained them in his service contrary to the
orders of the monarch. This led to the bloody
battle of Gabhra, in which the two rival military
tribes slaughtered each other almost to extermi-
nation. In this battle Osgar, the son of Oisin,
met the monarch in single combat, but he fell ;
and Cuirbre, retiring from the combat, was met
by his own relative, Semeon, one of the Fotharta
(who had been expelled into Leinster), who fell
upon him severely wounded after the dreadful

combat with Osgar, and despatched him at ablow.

d Ottarbha, in Hugh-Line. — Now the Eiver
Larne, in the county of Antrim — See note
under A. D. 106, supra. For a very curious
account of the identification of the tomb of
Fothadh Airgtheach, near this river, see Pe-
trie's Inquiry into the Origin and Uses of the
Hound Towers of Ireland, pp. 105, 106. Tigher-
nach does not mention either of these Fothadhs
as monarchs of Ireland, evidently because he
regarded them as usurpers, but makes Fiacha
Roibtine [Sraibhtine] succeed Cairbre Liffea-
chair, at Tara. They are, however, mentioned as
joint monarchs in the Annals of Clonmacnoise,
but it is added that " these Fothies were none
of the Blood Eoyall." They were the sons of
Maccon, who defeated Art, the son of Conn of the
Hundred Battles, at Magh-Mucruimhe, and from
their brother, Aenghus Gaifuileach, or Aenghus
of the Bloody Dart, O'Driscoll is descended.

e Caeilte : i. e. Caeilte mac Ronain, the fos-

122

aNNQ6a

[286.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da ceD ochemojac ape. Qn ceo bliabam DO pije piachaiD
Spaibeme op Gpinn.

Qoip Cpiopc, Da ceo nochac a haon. Qn peipeab bliaDam opmchaib
ippije. Cach OuiblinDe pia ppiachaib pop Laijnib. Upi caeha hi Sleb
Coaoh, each Smenpe, -| caeCiapmaije pia ppiachai6 Spaibcine beop.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpf ceo piche a Do. lap mbfich peace mbliabna ap cpio-
chac na pigh op Gpinn opiachaib Spaibcine DO ceap lap na Collaib hi ccaeh
Oubcomaip hi cCpich Roip i mbpeajaib.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpf ceo piche a cpf. Qn ceo Bliabain Do Colla Uaip mac
Gaehach Ooiriilen na pigh op Gpinn.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpf ceD piche ape. Qn cfcpamaD bliaoain Do Colla Uaip
hi pije' nGpeann 50 pop lonapb TTluipfDach Uipeach eipiom co na bpaicpibh
i nQlbain 50 ccpfb ceoaib mapaon piu.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpf ceD piche a peachc. Qn ceo bliabam Do TTIuipeDach
Cipec hi pijhe nGpeann. Q bpoipcfnD na bliaDna po cangacap na cpi Colla
johGpinn,-] nf po maip Dia pochpaiDe ache cpf naonbaip nama. Do oeocha-
cap Din 50 TTluipeaDhach lap na cceajapcc Do Dpaioh. T?o baigpfc ppip, 1
po paiDpeac opoichbpiafpa copup mapbab, "] copbaD paip cuaippeab inD
pionjal. Onac ecaipfc caipipfc oca, i pobcap gopa Do.

ter-son and favourite of the celebrated Irish
general, Finn Mac Cumhail.

f Fiacha-Sraibfttine Keating says he was

called Sraibhtine from his having been fostered
at Dun-Sraibhtine, in Connaught; but others
assert that he received this cognomen from the
showers of fire, i. e. the thunder-storms, which
occurred during his reign.

8 Duibhlinn : i. e. the black pool. This was
the name of that part of the River Liffey on
which the city of Duibhlinn or Dublin stands.

h Slidbh Toadh, — There is a mountain of this
name near the village of Ardara, in the barony
of Banagh, and county of Donegal — See it again
referred to at A. D. 610.

• Smear : i. e. a place abounding in black-
berries or blackberry briars. There are several
places of the name in Ireland.

k Ciarmhagh: i. e. the Brown Plain. Not iden-
tified.

1 Dubhchomar : i. e. the Conflux of the River
Dubh. Tighernach says that this battle was
named from Dubh-Chomar, the king's druid,
who was therein slain ; but this looks legendary,
as the name signifies " black confluence." Keat-
ing says it is near Tailten, to the south, and it
is quite evident that it was the ancient name of
the confluence of the Blackwater and the Boyne.
The territory of Crioch Rois embraced a portion
of the barony of Farney, in the county of Mo-
naghan, and some of the adjoining districts of
the counties of Meath and Louth.

m Colla Uais: i. e. Colla the Noble. All the
authorities agree in giving him a reign of four
years, but Dr. O' Conor shews that his expulsion
should be placed in the year 329.

286.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

123

The Age of Christ, 286. The first year of the reign of Fiacha Sraibhtinef
over Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 291. The sixth year of Fiacha in the sovereignty.
The battle of Duibhlinn5 [was fought] by Fiacha against the Leinstermen ;
three battles at Sliabh Toadh" ; the battle of Smear1 ; and also the battle of
Ciarmhagh*, by Fiacha Sraibhtine.

The Age of Christ, 322. Fiacha Sraibhtine, after having been thirty-seven
years as king over Ireland, was slain by the Collas, in the battle of Dubhcho-
mar1, in Crioch-Rois, in Breagh.

The Age of Christ, 323. The first year of Colla Uais, son of Eochaidh
Doimhlen, as king over Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 326. The fourth year of Colla Uaism, in the sovereignty
of Ireland, when Muireadhach Tireach expelled him and his brothers into Alba
[Scotland] with three hundred along with them.

The Age of Christ, 327. The first year of Muireadhach Tireach in the
sovereignty of Ireland. At the end of this year the three Collas came to Ire-
land ; and there lived not of their forces but thrice nine persons only. They
then went to Muireadhach, having been instructed by a druid. [And] they
scolded at him, and expressed evil words, that he might kill them", and that it
might be on him [the curse of] the finghal should alight. As he did not oppose
them, they tarried with him, and were faithful to him0.

n Might kill them — The word pionjal signifies
the murder of a relative or clansman, and was
considered to be so great a crime among the an-
cient Irish, that a curse was believed to alight
on the murderer and his race. A druid had
informed the Collas that if they could exaspe-
rate the king so as that he would kill them, or
any of them, the sovereignty would be wrested
from him and his line, and transferred to their
descendants. The king, perceiving that this was
their wish, bore patiently with all their taunt-
ing words. Keating says that when the Collas
came into the presence of the king at Tara, he
asked them what news, and that they replied,
" We have no news more mournful than that thy

R

father was killed by us." " That is news which
we have already known," said the king, " but it
is of no consequence to you now, for no revenge
shall follow you, except that the misfortune,
which has already attended you will follow
you." " This is the reply of a coward," said the
Collas. " Be not sorry for it," replied the king,
" Ye are welcome."

0 Faithful to him — The language of this pas-
sage is very ancient, and seems to have been
copied from Tighernach. According to Keating
and the Leabhar-Gabhala of the O'Clerys, the
Collas then entered into a, treaty of friendship
with the king, and were his generals, till about
the year 332, when they destroyed the Ulster

124

[331.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpi ceo cpiocha a haon. Qn cuicceab bliabam Do TTluipeab-
ach. Cac Qchaib Ifichofipcc hi pfpnmoij lap na cpib CollaiB pop Ullcuib,
DU i ccopcaip pfpsup Poja, mac Ppaechaip poprpiuin, nujplair Ula6 i
nGamam in Pfpgup ^Tm- Ro ^°ircKc 'a]10™ Garhain, -\ nip aiccpeabpac
UlaiD innce open. Callpac pop Ulcoib beop Don cuicceab 6 Ri^he -| Loch
nGachach pmp. Oo cfp Colla TTleann ipm cac pin.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpi ceo caocca a pe. lap mbfich cpiocha bliabain hi pighe
nGpeann DO TTltnpeaDhach d'peac DO ceap la Caolbab, mac Cpuinn, pinUlab,
oc pope pigh uap Daball.

Qoip Cpiopr, cpi ceo caocca a peachc. lap mbfir aon blia&ain i pije
nGpeann DO CaolbaD, mac Cpuinn 6a6pai, DO ceap la hGochaiD Tlluij-
meaDoin.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpi ceD caocca a hochc. Qn ceiD bliaDain oGocham TTluij-
meabon hi pijhe op Gpmn.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpi ceo peapcca a cuicc. Qn cochcmaD bliabain oGochaib
TTluijmfboin, mic fnuipfbai^, ^ipij op Gpmn 50 nepbailc i cUeampaij.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpf ceo peapcca a pe. Qn ceo bliabain DO Cpiomcann,
mac pioohaiD, mic Oaipe Cepb, op Gpmn.

Qoip Cpiopc, cpi ceo peaccmojac a hochc. lap mbfich cpi bliabna

palace of Eamhain-Macha or Emania, and con-
quered vast territories for themselves in Ulster.
Dr. O'Conor thinks that the overturning of
Emania should be ascribed to A. D. 331.

' Achadh-leithdheirg. — This place, situated in
the territory of Fearnmhagh, now the barony
of Farney, in the county of Monaghan, has not
yet been identified.

q The Righe. — Now the Newry river, which
is called " Owen Glenree fluvius" on an old map
of a part of Ulster preserved in the State Papers'
Office, London — See note6, under A. D."1178.

p Loch n-Eathach : i. e. the Lake of Eochaidh,
now Lough Neagh, a large and celebrated lake
between the counties of Antrim, Londonderry,
Down, Armagh, and Tyrone.

s Colla Meann. — He was the ancestor of the
ancient inhabitants of Crioch-Mughdhorn, now

Cremorne, in the county of Monaghan. Colla
Uais, the eldest of the brothers, is the ancestor
of the Mac Donnells, Mac Allisters, and Mac
Dugalds of Scotland ; and Colla Dachrich, of
the Mac Mahons of the county of Monaghan, of
the Maguires of Fermanagh, of the O'Hanlons
and Mac Canns of the county of Armagh, and
of various other families.

' King of Uladh Henceforward Uladh is

applied to the circumscribed territory of the
ancient Ulstermen.

u Portrtgh, over Ddbhall. — Dabhall was the
ancient name of the River Abhainn-mhor, or
Blackwater, in the counties of Tyrone and Ar-
magh ; and Portrigh, the King's Fort, was pro-
bably the ancient name of Benburb. The An-
nals of Clonmacnoise give Muireadhach Tireach
but a reign of thirteen years, but Dr. O'Conor

331.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

The Age of Christ, 331. The fifth year of Muireadhach. The battle of
Achadh-leithdheirgp, in Fearnmhagh, [was fought] by the three Collas against
the Ulstermen, in which fell Fearghus Fogha, son of Fraechar Foirtriun, the last
king of Ulster, [who resided] at Eamhain. They afterwards burned Eamhairi,
and the Ulstermen did not dwell therein since, 'They also took from the
Ulstermen that part of the province [extending] from the Righeq and Loch
n-Eathachr westwards. Colla Meann5 fell in this battle.

The Age of Christ, 356. After Muireadhach Tireach had been thirty
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he was slain by Caelbhadh, son of Crunn,
King of Uladh', at Portrigh, over DabhalF.

The Age of Christ, 357. After Caelbhadh", son of Crunn Badhrai, had
been one year in the sovereignty of Ireland, he was slain by Eochaidh Muigh-
mheadhoin.

The Age of Christ, 358. The first year of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin in
sovereignty over Ireland

The Age of Christ, 365. The eighth year of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin*,
son of Muireadhach Tireach, over Ireland, when he died at Teamhair.

The Age of Christ, 366. The first year of Crimhthann, son of Fidhach,
son of Daire Cearb, over Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 378. After Crimhthann, son ofFidhachy, had been

thinks that thirty is the number borne out by
the more ancient authorities.

w Caelbhadh. — He was of the Rudrician race
of Ulster. Tighernach does not mention him
among the monarchs of Ireland ; but in all the
other authorities he is set down as monarch of
Ireland for one year.

* Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin. — Dr. O'Conor
translates the cognomen Muighmheadhoin by
" Camporum cultor;" and Keating asserts that
he was so called because his meadhon, or middle,
was like that of a slave ; but the one explana-
tion is a mere guess, the other a silly legend.
In the Annals of Clonmacnoise it is explained
as follows :

" Eochy reigned eight years and was called
Moymeoyn; in English, moyst-middle (.1. meu-

6on moor Kuoi aije), because he was much
troubled with the flux of the belly."

This monarch had two wives : Mongtinn,
daughter of Fidhach, of the royal family of
Munster, by whom he had four sons: 1. Brian,
the ancestor of the O'Conors of Connaught and
their correlatives ; 2. Fiachra, the ancestor of
the O'Dowdas, O'Heynes, and O'Shaughnessys ;
3. Fearghus; and 4. Oilioll, whose race were
anciently seated in Tir-Oiliolla, now the barony
of Tirerrill, in the county of Sligo. He had
also a second wife, Carinna, who was the mother
of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the most illus-
trious of his sons, from whom the Ui-Neill, or
Nepotes Neill, north and south, are descended.

' Crimhthann, son of Fidhach — He was the
senior and head of the race of Heber, but died

126

[379-

Decc na pij op Gpinn DoCpiorhcann, mac pioohaij, arbail DO Dij neime cucc
TTioingpionn a hpiuip peipm Do.

Qoip Cpiopc, rpf ceD pechcmojjac anaoi. Qn ceo bliaDain DO Niall
Naoijpallac, mac Gadiacli ITIoijThfooin, hi pi£e nGpeann.

Qoip Cpiopc, cfirpe ceD a cuicc. lap mbfirh peace mbliaDna pichfc na
pigh op Gpmn DO Niall Naoijpallach, mac Gachach rnoijmfDoin, Dopochaip
la hGochaiD, mac Gnna Cenopealaig, occ TTluip nlochc .1. an rhuip eDip
p.panc -] Sa-cam.

without issue at Sliabh-Oighidh-an-righ, i. e.
the Mountain of the Death of the King, now
the Cratloe mountains, situated to the north of
the city of Limerick. It is remarked in the An-
nals of Clonmacnoise, and in the Book of Bally-
rnote, foL 145, b, a, that Mongfinn poisoned her
brother in the hope that her eldest son, Brian,
might be immediately elevated to the throne of
Ireland ; but that this was of no avail to her,
for that Niall of the Nine Hostages, the son of
King Eochaidh by his second wife, succeeded
as monarch immediately after the poisoning of
Crimhthann ; and that none of her descendants
ever attained to the monarchy except Turlough
More O'Conor, and his son Koderic, who were
luckless monarchs to Ireland. Keating, who
had access to Munster documents now un-
known or inaccessible, gives a curious account
of the reign of this monarch, the most powerful
that the Munster race of Heber can boast of.
It runs as follows in Dr. Lynch's translation:

" Capessivit postea imperium Crimthonus
Fidogi films, Dairi Cearbi nepos, Olilli Flann-
beggi pronepos, Fiachi Muilehani abnepos,
Eogani Magni adnepos, Olilli Olumi trinepos,
qui matrimonio Fidamgse Connactici regis nlise
copulatus septemdecem annos regnavit, et Al-
bania, Britannia, et Gallia victorias retulisse
illarumque regionum incolas perdomuisse ve-
tusta documenta produnt. Hie in alumnum
suum Conallum Echluachum, Lugachi Manu-
rubri filium Momonue regnum contulit. Pro-

pago vero Fiachi Muilehani honorem sibi debi-
tum alii deferri iniquo animo ferentes de illata
sibi injuria gravissimas spargunt usquequaque
querelas in ingratitudinis scopulum non leviter
impegisse Conallum dictitantes quod nulla cog-
natorum habita ratione quse illos ob Eetatis pri-
oritatem potiori jure, spectabat prudenset sciens
involaret; prasertim cum ex ipsorum genere
vir ea dignitate dignissimus Corcus Lugdachi
filius turn in vivis esset. Conallus ne ipse ma-
cula ejusmodi notaretur, rem integram ad eos
qui in ipsa Momonia eruditionis nomine cla-
riores habebantur decidendam, ultro detulit
sancte pollicitus quidquid illi decreverint se ad
amussim expleturum. Arbitri, re accurate dis-
cussa, Corco Lugdachi filio; ut qui a Fiachi
Muilehani stirpe oriundus erat, qua? stirpem
Cormaci Caissii setate prsecelleret, regni habenas
primo committendas : Huic autem mortuo Co-
nallum si superstes esset sin minus ejus filium
substituendum esse censuerunt. Ubi hujus
decreti capita, datis vadibus, se observaturum
Corcus recepit, eum dignitatem regiam inire Co-
nallus facile patitur; cum prsesertim Olillus
Olumus constituerit, ut Fiachi Muillehani, et
Cormaci Caissi prosapise regnandi vicissitudine
semper in Momonia uterentur.

" Demum Corcus fato fungitur, et Conallus
Echluachus regimen capessit: cujus in custo-
diam omnes quos in Hibernia, Albania, Britan-
nia, et Gallia csopit, tradidisse his Cormaci Cul-
lenani carminibus perhibetur :

379-]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

127

thirteen years as king over Ireland, he died of a poisonous drink which his own
sister gave him.

The Age of Christ, 379. The first year of Niall of the Nine Hostages, son
of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 405. After Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eoch-
aidh Muighmheadhoin, had been twenty-seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland,
he was slain by Eochaidh, son of Enna Ceinnseallach, at Muir n-Ichtz, i. e. the
sea between France and England.

" Echluachus Mulctam totius caepit lernse,
Postquam Crimthonus mulctas trans ajquora

duxit,

Nunquam Juvernse fuerat Rex clarior alter,
Mannae tranavit quamvis freta livida nun-

quam

Crimthonus Magnus soboles Fidogia, prsedas.
Quotuscumque tulit, vasti trans aequoris undas,
Conallo Echluacho dederat, prsestantior alter
Quo pugil haud fuerat, rubei gestamine teli
Pectoris excels!, praBclaras et nomine mentis
Conallus praedives equis velocibus omnem
Lustravit patriam, Crimthonum rite secutus,
Dunlemnamque adiit miles robustus, ibique
Magnum hominum numerum miseranda csede

peremit.

Foemenite Fertconellum, latifundia Aini,
Dungarium, Drumcormacum, validumque

Rathlemnum.
Duncarmnum egregium Focharmaighumque

decorum.

Cassiliaeque urbis Celebris pomoeria lata
Sub ditione sua strenuus Conallus habebat.

" Munfinna Crimthoni soror, filii sui Briani,
quern ex Eocho Muighmheano suscepit, et prse
cajteris liberis in deliciis habuit, amore nimio,
et regiffi dignitatis ad eum deveniendae vehe-
nienti desiderio accensa, venenum Crimthono
fratri hauriendum porrexit in Dornglassise in-
sula, poculo antea ab ipsa propinato, ut lectius
fratri fucum facerit, et in maleficii auspicionem

minus ei veniret ; sed malo viscera paulatim
rodente, ilia in Dornglassiae insula, ille vero ad
montem Oighenrighum, Lymbrico ab aquilone
adjacentem interiit, Anno Domini 378."

FromFiachaFidhgheinte, the uncle of Crimh-
thann Mor, descended the tribe of Ui-Fidh-
gheinte, formerly seated in the plains of the
county of Limerick, and who, after the establish-
ment of surnames, branched into the families of
O'Donovan, O'Coileain (now Collins) MacEniry,
O'Kinealy, and others.

* Muir n-Icht. — This sea is supposed to have
taken its name from the Portus Iccius of Caesar,
situated not far from the site of the present
Boulogne. Nothing seems clearer than that
this Irish monarch made incursions into Britain
against Stilicho, whose success in repelling him
and his Scots is described by Claudian. " By
him," says this poet, speaking in the person of
Britannia, " was I protected when the Scot
moved all lerne against me, and the sea foamed
with his hostile oars :

" Totam cum Scotus lernen
Movit et infesto spumavit remige Tethys."

'From another of this poet's eulogies it ap-
pears that the fame of that Roman legion,
which had guarded the frontier of Britain
against the invading Scots, procured for it the
distinction of being one of those summoned to
the banner of Stilicho, when the Goths threat-
ened Rome :

128

[428.

Cloip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo piclie a noetic, lap mbfic cpi btiaDna pichfc i
pighe nGpeann Do Oachf, mac piachpach, mic GachacTnoi^meaDoin, copch-
aip DO pai£ic gealain 05 Sleib 6alpa.

Goip. Cpiopc, cficpe ceo cpiocha. Qn Dapa bbaDain DO Laogaipe. Ip
in mbliabampi po paoiD an ceD Celepcinup papa palaoiup eppcop Docum
nGpeann DO pfolab cpeiorhe oGipfnncoib,-) camic i ccfp i ccpfc Laijfn, Da pfp
Decc a lion. T?o Diulr Nachi mac (5appc°n r°1Tne» aP a ai P° oa'rc «a^a6
Daoine i ccip nGpeann, -] po pocuijeaD ceopa heccailpi cpainn laip, Cell
phini,Ceac na Roman,-) Oomnac Qpca. Q cCillphine po paccaib a liubpa,
1 an compa 50 craipib POI!,-] pfoaip,-) mapcipech niomDa noile. T?o paccaib
an cfcpap po ip na heccailpib ipm Dia eip, Qugupcinnp, beneoicrup, Siluep-
rep,i Soloniup. Ctj cionncuD Do phallaoiup pop ccul DO T?oim (o na puaip
aipmiccin i nGpinn) Dop paipiD galop i ccfpib Cpuicnec co riepbailc DC.

Qoip Cpiopc, ceichpe ceo cpiocha a haon. Qn cpfp bliabam Do Cao^aipe.
T?o hoiponeaD naom paccpaicc i r.eppuccoioe lapa naom papa, an ceo

" Venit et extremis Legio prsetenta Britannia,
Quse Scoto dat fraena truci, ferroque notatas
Perlegit exanimes Picto moriente figuras." —

De Bdlo Getico.

It would appear from certain passages in the
Notitia Imperil that Niall on these occasions
had many tribes of the Aitheach-Tuatha, or
Attacotti, in his army, who, being the natural
enemies of his family, deserted to the enemy,
and were incorporated with the Roman legions:
" The Attacotti make a distinguished figure
in the Notitia Imperil, where numerous bodies
of them appear in the list of the Roman army.
One body was in Illyricum, their ensign a kind
of mullet ; another at Rome, their badge a
circle; the Attacotti Honoriani were in Italy."
— Pinkerton's Inquiry into the History of Scotland,
part iv. c. 2 ; see also O'Conor's Prolegom., 1 . Ixxi.
This great Monarch Niall had fourteen sons,
of whom eight left issue, who are set down in
the following order by O'Flaherty (Ogyyia, iii.
85): 1. Laeghaire, from whom are descended
the O'Coindhealbhains or Kendellans of Ui-

Laeghaire ; 2. Conall Crimhthainne, ancestor
of the O'Melaghlins ; 3. Fiacha, a quo the Ma-
geoghegans and O'Molloys ; 4. Maine, a quo
O'Caharny, now Fox, O'Breen and Magawley,
and their correlatives in Teffia. All these re-
mained in Meath. The other four settled in
Ulster, where they acquired extensive territo-
ries : 1. Eoghan, the ancestor of O'Neill, and
various correlative families; 2. Conall Gulban,
the ancestor of O'Donnell, &c. ; 3. Cairbre,
whose posterity settled in the barony of Car-
bury, in the now county of Sligo, and in the
barony of Granard, in the county of J^ongford ;
4. Enda Finn, whose race settled in Tir-Enda,
in Tirconnell, and in Kinel-Enda, near the hill
of Uisneach, in Westmeath.

It was on the occasion of one of the descents
of this monarch on the coast of Armoric Gaul
that the soldiers carried off with them, among
other captives, a youth then in his sixteenth
year, who was afterwards the chief apostle of
Ireland, namely, Patrick, the son of Calphurnius ;
but it is very clear from St. Jerome's notices of

428.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

129

The Age of Christ, 428. After Dathi, son of Fiachra, son of Eochaidh
Muighmheadhoin, had been twenty-three years in the sovereignty of Ireland,
he was killed by a flash of lightning, at Sliabh Ealpaa.

The Age of Christ, 430. The second year of Laeghaire. In this year Pope
Celestinus the First sent Palladius" to Ireland, to propagate the faith among the
Irish, and he landed in the country of Leinster with a company of twelve men.
Nathi, son of Garchuj refused to admit him ; but, however, he baptized a few
persons in Ireland, and three wooden churches0 were erected by him, [namely],
Cell-Fhine, Teach-na-Komhan, and Domhnach-Arta. At Cell-Fhine he left his
books, and a shrine with the relics of Paul and Peter, and many martyrs besides.
He left these four in these churches : Augustinus, Benedictus, Silvester, and
Solinus. Palladius, on his returning back to Rome (as he did not receive
respect in Ireland), contracted a disease in the country of the Cruithnigh, and
died thereof.

The Age of Christ, 431. The third year of Laeghaire. Saint Patrick was
ordained bishop by the holy Pope, Celestine the First, who ordered him to go

Celestius, and from several old Lives of St. Pa-
trick, that there were Christians in Ireland for
some time previously to this reign — See the
Editor's 7mA Grammar, Introd., pp. 1. li.

a Sliabh-Ealpa : i. e. the Alps. For curious
notices of King Dathi, see Tribes and Customs of
Ui-Fiachrach, pp. 17 to 27. Duald Mac Firbis
states from the records of his ancestors that the
body of Dathi was carried home to Ireland, and
interred at Rathcroghan, where his grave was
marked by a red pillar-stone.

b Palladius — From the notice of this mis-
sionary in Prosper's Chronicle, it is evident
that there were some communities of Christians
among the Scoti in Ireland. His words are :
" Ad Scotos in Christum credentes ordinatus a
Papa Celestino Palladius primus Episcopus mit-
titur." The same writer boasts that this new
missionary to the British isles, while endeavour-
ing to keep the Roman island of Britain Catholic,
had made the barbarous [i. e. not Romanized]
island Christian, " Et ordinato Scotis Episcopo

dum Romanam insulam studet servare Catho-
licam, fecit etiam Barbaram Christianam." This
sanguine announcement was issued by Prosper,
in a work directed against the Semi-Pelagians,
before the true result of Palladius's mission had
reached him. This unsuccessful missionary did
not live to report at Rome his failure in the
barbarous island ; but, being driven by a storm
on the coast of North Britain, there died at
Fordun, in the district of Magh-Geirgin, or
Mearns. — See Boole of Armagh, fol. 2, p. a; and
Colgan's Trias Thaum., p. 248, col. 2.

c Three wooden churches. — These churches
were situated in the territory of Ui-Garchon,
which was washed by the River Inbher-Dea, in
the east of the present county of Wicklow.
Cellfine is unknown ; Teach-na-Romhan, House
of the Romans, is probably the place called Ti-
groni ; and Domhnach-Arta is probably the pre-
sent Dunard, near Redcross. For the various
authorities which mention the erection of these
churches see Colgan's Trias Thaum., p. 249.

130

[432.

Celepcinup, po pupail paip rocr oocum nGpeann, Do pfnmoip-] DO ppoicepc
cpeomi -| cpabaiD Do 5«0it>ea^a1^. 1 Dia mbairpeaDh mip.

Qoip Cpiopc, cfichpe ceo cpiocha aoo. C(n cearparhao bliaDain Do
Laojaipe. paccpaicc Do cheachc i nGpmn an bliaoainpi, 50 po jab pop
baicpeaD -| beannachaij; Gpeann, piopa, mna, maca, ~\ ingfna, cen mo cd
uachaD na po paorh baicpioD na cpeiDearh uaD, ariiuil aipne&eap a b'eaca.

Gch Upturn DO porhujhaDh la pacpaicc lap na fohpaipc Do pheblim,
mac Laejhaipe, mic Nell, DO Ohia, Doporh, Do Lomman, ~\ Do popcchfpn.
plann TTlamipepec cecinir.

, ab 6ipeann uile, mac Calppamn, mic
mic Deippe, nap Doij DO liuD, mic Copmuic TTlhoip, mic Leibpiuc,
mic Oca, mic Oppic mair, mic TTloipic, mic Leo in lanpair,
mic TTla^imi, maipg na ploinn, mic Gncpecca aipo alainD,
mic pflipc ip peppap 015 cac, mic pepem jan anpac,
mic bpiccam, Dobpa in mapa, o caic bpecam bpucmapa,
Cochmap a macaip malla, Nemrhop a b'aile baja,
Don mumain m cael a cuio, po paop ap pucaip pdopaij.

d Came to Ireland. — The place where St. Pa-
trick landed is the subject of much dispute
among the Irish writers. Mageoghegan, in his
Annals of Clonmacnoise, states that he landed
at Wicklow, where he was opposed by the
Leinstermen, one of whom struck one of his
companions on the mouth with a stone, and
knocked out four of his teeth, for which reason
he was afterwards called Mantanus, or the tooth-
less, and the church of Cill-Mantain, now Wick-
low, is said to have taken its name from him

See also Ussher's Primordia, pp. 845, 846. Mr.
Moore thinks that Inbhear-Dea? was the harbour
of Dublin, but this opinion is founded on a mis-
reading of Evolenorum for Cuolenorum by Ussher,
in Probus's Life of St. Patrick, which the Book
of Armagh enables us to correct. Prom the si-
tuation of Cualann and Ui-Garchon, in which
Inbher De» was, it is more than probable that
it was at Bray Patrick landed.

e His Life. — Seven Lives of St. Patrick have
been published by Colgan in his Trias Thaum.,
of which the seventh, which is called Vita Tri-
partita, and is ascribed to St. Evin, is the most
copious. Ussher had another life, divided into
three parts, which, from the several quotations
he gives from it, appears to be very different
from the Tripartite Life published by Colgan. It
appears, from the various Lives of this saint,
that several tribes of the Irish not only refused
to be converted, but attempted to murder St.
Patrick. Giraldus Cambrensis says that Ire-
land never produced a single martyr, and all
the modern Irish historians have asserted that,
"'by a singular blessing of Providence, not a
single drop of blood was shed, on account of re-
ligion, through the entire course of the conver-
sion of the Pagan Irish to Christianity." But
whoever will read the Tripartite Life of St. Pa-
trick, as published by Colgan, will find that the

432.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

131

to Ireland, to preach and teach faith and piety to the Gaeidhil, and also to bap-
tize them.

The Age of Christ, 432. The fourth year of Laeghaire. Patrick came to
Ireland"1 this year, and proceeded to baptize and bless the Irish, men, women,
sons, and daughters, except a few who did not consent to receive faith or bap-
tism from him, as his Life6 relates.

Ath-Truim was founded by Patrick, it having been granted by Fedhlim, son
of Laeghaire, son of Niall, to God and to him, Loman, and Fortchern. Flann
Mainistrechf cecinit :

Patrick, Abbot of all Ireland, son of Calphranng, son of Fotaide,

Son of Deisse, — not fit to be dispraised, son of Cormac Mor, son of Lebriuth,

Son of Ota, son of Orric the Good, son of Moric, son of Leo of full success,

Son of Maximus, 'tis not unfit to name him, son of Encretti, the tall and comely,

Son of Philisti, the best of men, son of Fereni without a tempest,

Son of Britan11, otter of the sea, from whom the vigorous Brifons came ;

Cochnias was his modest mother ; Nemthor his native town ;

Of Munster not small his share, which Patrick redeemed from sorrow.

Pagan Irish made several attempts at murdering
Patrick, and that he had frequently but a nar-
row escape. He will be also convinced that our
modern popular writers have been guilty of
great dishonesty in representing the labours of
Patrick as not attended with much difficulty.
Nothing is clearer than that Patrick engrafted
Christianity on the Pagan superstitions with so
much skill, that he won the people over to the
Christian religion before they understood the
exact difference between the two systems of
belief ; and much of this half Pagan half Chris-
tian religion will be found, not only in the Irish
stories of the middle ages, but in the supersti-
tions of the peasantry of the present day.

f Flann Mainistrech : i. e. Flann of the Mo-
nastery. He was abbot of Mainistir-Buithe,
now Monasterboice, in the county of Louth,

and died in December, 1056 See O'Eeilly's

Descriptive Catalogue of Irish Writers, p. Ixxv.

S

* Son of Calphrann — St.Patrick himself gives
us two generations of his pedigree, in his Con-
fessio, as follows : " Patrem habui Calpornium
diaconum, filium quondam Potiti presbyteri,
qui fuit in vico Bonavem Tabernise : villulam
Enon prope habuit ubi capturam dedi."

h Britan — This pedigree is clearly legendary,
because Britan, from whom the Britons are said
to have derived their .name and origin, is said, by
all the Irish writers, to have flourished before
the arrival of the Tuatha-De-Dananns in Ire-
land ; and, therefore, to deduce the Irish apostle's
pedigree from him in fifteen generations, cannot
now, for a moment, stand the test of criticism. —
See this pedigree given from various authorities
in Colgan's Trias Thaum., pp. 4, 224.

After this quotation from Flann, the Stowe
copy has the following observation: " San oapa
ouille um Diaij aca an cuio ele oon ouanp
.i. map a bpuil ' ITluinctp paopuijj na pac-

132

[434.

Qoip Cpiopc, cfichpe ceD cpiochac a cfchaip. Ctn peipeaD bliaDain
Do Laojaipe. Loapn mac Gachach TTluinpfriiaip DO jenfD.

Qoip Cpiopc, cfichpe ceo cpiocha a cuig. Qn peaccmaD bliaDam Do
Laojaipe. bpeapal belach, mac piacha Qicfoha, mic Cachaoip TTloip, (pi
Laighean) 065.

Cloip Cpiopc, ceicpe ceD cpiocha a pe. Ctn coccmaD bliaDam Do plainop
Laojaipe.

Ctoip Cpiopc, ceichpe cheD cpiochac a peace. Qn naorhaD bliabain Do
Laojaipe. pionobapp mac ua baipoene oecc.

Qoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceD cpiocha a hochc. Qn DfchmaD bliabam DO
Laojaipe. Seancup -| peneachup na hGpeann Do jlanaDl Do pcpiobaD, ap
ccfclamaD pcpeapcpaD -] pfmleabap nGpeann co haon majjin, ap impibe
Naom pacpaicc. QciaO anopo naoi pailje pochaijceacha lap a nofpnaD
inopin. Laojaipe (.1. pi Gpeann), Copcc -] Daipe an cpiup pfojh, paopuicc,
benen, -\ Caipnech an cpiup naorh, l?op, Oubchach, -\ pfpjup an cpiup
peanchaD, arhail Deapbap an pann.

cep,' " i. e. " On the second leaf following the
rest of this poem is [given], i. e. where occurs
' Muintir Padruig na Patter ; ' " which Dr.
O'Conor translates, ridiculously, as follows :
" In Scholarum libris de rebus divinis extat
pars reliqua hujus carminis, i. e. de mirabilibus
familiee Patricii orationum." — See the poem so
beginning, p. 134, line 13, infra. The object of
the note by the Four Masters is simply to in-
form the reader that the lines beginning "Muin-
ter Padruy" are a continuation of the poem of
Flann Mainistreach.

' Loarn. — He was one of the Dal-Riada of
Ulster who settled in Alba or Scotland.

J Breasal Bealach. — He is called Bex LagenicK
in the Annals of Ulster. — He is the common
ancestor of the Kavanaghs, O'Byrnes, O'Tooles,
and other families of Leinster. — See Leabhar na
gCeart, p. 203.

k Mac Ua Bairdene. — This Finnbharr is to be
distinguished from the first Bishop of Cork and
others of a similar name. His name does not

occur in the Feilire-Aenguis, or in O'Clery's Irish
Calendar. It would appear from various autho-
rities, which Ussher and Colgan have regarded
as trustworthy, but which Dr. Lanigan rejects
as fabulous, that by Uabard the Irish writers
meant Longobardus, or a Lombard. Thus Ees-
titutus, the husband of Liemania, St. Patrick's
sister, is called one time Hua-Baird, and at ano-
ther time Longobardus — See Petrie's Inquiry
into the Origin and Uses of the Round Towers of
Ireland, p. 164; Ussher's Primordia, p. 825 ; Col-
gan's Trias Thaum., p. 226, col. 2 ; Dr. O'Conor's
Prolegomena ad Annales, pp. 1. Ixiv.

1 The Seanchm and Feinechus : i. e. the His-
tory and Laws. The work said to have been
compiled on this occasion is usually called the
Seanchus Mor, and in the Annals of Ulster
Chronicon Magnum. There are fragments of a
work so called in the manuscript Library of
Trin. Coll. Dub., H. 3. 17, and H. 3, 18. and a
more perfect one in the British Museum. Jo-
celyn also refers to it (as if he had seen it) under

434.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

133

The Age of Christ, 434. The sixth year of Laeghaire. Loarn1, son of
Eochaidh Muinreamhar, was born.

The Age of Christ, 435. The seventh year of Laeghaire. Breasal Bea-
lachj, son of Fiacha Aiceadh, son of Cathaeir Mor (King of Leinster), died.

The Age of Christ, 436. The eighth year of the reign of Laeghaire.

The Age of Christ, 437. The ninth year of Laeghaire. Finnbharr Mac
Ua Bairdene", died.

The Age of Christ, 438. The tenth year of Laeghaire. The Seanchus and
Feinechus1 of Ireland were purified and written, the writings and old books
of Ireland having been collected [and brought] to one place, at the request of
Saint Patrick. These were the nine supporting props by whom this was done:
Laeghaire, i. e. King of Ireland, Core, and Daire, the three kings ; Patrick,
Benen, and Cairneach, the three saints ; Ross, Dubhthach, and Fearghus, the
three antiquaries, as this quatrain testifies :

the name of Canoin-Phadruig, incorrectly for
Cain-Phadruig, i. e. Patrick's Law, as follows :
" Magnum etiam volumen quod dicitur Canoin
Phadruig, id est, CanonesPairicii scripsit ; quod
cuilibet persons, seu seculari, seu etiam Eccle-
siasticse, ad justiciam exercendam, et salutem
uninm: obtinendam, satis congrue convenit." —
Trias Thaum., pp. 214, col. 1. SeePetrie's An-
tiquities of Tara Hill, in which (pp. 47-54) long
extracts are given from the prefatory account of
this work in the manuscript above referred to ;
and p. 56, where the author draws the following
conclusion respecting its origin and nature :

" On the whole, then, it may be safely con-
cluded from the preceding evidences, that the
Seanchus Mor was not, as Colgan and the sub-
sequent writers supposed, a mixed compilation
of history and law, but a body of laws solely ;
and though, perhaps, there is not sufficient evi-
dence to satisfy an unprejudiced person that
the Apostle of Ireland had any share in its
composition, or even that its origin can be
traced to his time, little doubt can be enter-
tained that such a work was compiled within a
short period after the full establishment of

Christianity in the country. It is even highly
probable that St. Patrick, assisted by one of the
Bards converted to Christianity, may have laid
the foundation of a revision of such of the Pagan
laws and usages of the country as were incon-
sistent with the doctrines of the Gospel ; and
that such a work, when compiled by the labour
of his successors, was ascribed to him, to give it
greater authority with the people. And this
conjecture is supported by the Annals of Ulster,
so remarkable for their accuracy, which record,
at the year 438, the composition of the Chronicon
Magnum, or, as it is called in the original Irish,
in the fine manuscript of these Annals in Trinity
College, Seanchus Mor, a statement most proba-
bly derived from the older Annals of Tighernach,
which are now defective at that period."

It is distinctly stated in H. 3. 18, that the
Seanchus Mor was otherwise called Cain Pha-
druig, i. e. Patrick's Law, and that no indivi-
dual Brehon of the Gaeidhil (Irish Scoti) has
dared to abrogate any thing found in it. Hence
it is clear that Jocelyn has misnamed the " mag-
num volumen," containing civil and ecclesiastical
laws, by the name of Canoin Phadruig, for that

134

[440.

Laojaipe, Cope, Oaipe Dup, paopaicc, benen, Caipnfch coip,
Rop, Oubchach, Peapgup 50 peb, naoi pailje pen pfncaip moip.

doip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo cficpacha. On Oapa bliaoain Decc Do Caojaipe.
TTlaine, mac Nell Naoijiallaij, Decc.

Cloip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo cfcpacha a cfcaip. Ctn peipeaD bbaDain Decc
DO Laojaipe mac Neill ipin TCighe.

C[oip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo, cfcpacha apeachc. Qnaoi Decc DO Laojaipe.
SecunDinup .1. Seachnall, mac ua baipD, mac pfcap pacpaicc .1. Oaipepca,
eppcop Ctpoa ITIacha, cuicc bliaDna pfccmojac a aoip an can po paoiD a
ppipac .1. 27 Nouembep.

Qoip Cpiopc, ceicpe ceo cfcpacha a hochc. Qn picfcrhao bliaDam Do

Lao^aipe.

TTluinncep phaDpuij na paccep, acca paibe po Laiccen,
TTleabpa lim, m cuipc cpanna, a nuipc ip a nanmanna.
Sechnall a eppog gan ace, TTlocca ap pein a pagapc,

was the name by which the Irish designated
St. Patrick's copy of the Gospels, now known
as the Book of Armagh.

m Core. — This quotation is evidently apochry-
phal. He was not contemporary with King
Laeghaire or St. Patrick's mission, for he was
the grandfather of Aenghus Mac Nadfraich, the
first Christian King of Munster — Ogy gia,\i\.tl '86.

n Cairneach He could have scarcely been

alive in 438, and he could not possibly have been
then an ecclesiastic, for he died in 530, near .a
century afterwards, and Benignus or Benen was
but a boy in 438. — See LeabJiar na-gCeart, In-
troduction, p. iii. et sequent.

° Maine, son of Niall. — He was the ancestor
of the O'Caharnys, O'Breens, Magawleys, and
other families of Teffia, which was sometimes
called Tir-Maine from him.

p Seachnall Mac Ua Baird. — According to all
the ancient Irish authorities, he was the son of
Liamhain or Liemania, otherwise called Darerca,
one of the sisters of St. Patrick, by Restitutus

the Lombard, and the author of a hymn in
praise of St. Patrick, published by Colgan in
Trias Thaum., p. 211 — See Ussher's Primordia,
p. 824, and Lanigan's Eccl. Hist. Irel., vol. i.
pp. 259, 271, where it is shewn from various
authorities that he was a suffragan bishop to St.
Patrick, and that his principal church was Domh-
nach Sechnail, i. e. the Church of Sechnall, now
Dunshaughlin, in Meath, where he was placed
by St. Patrick about the year 443, and died in
448. Dr. Lanigan scoffs at the idea of Darerca,
the sister of St. Patrick, being married to Ees-
titutus, a Lombard. In the Annals of Ulster, ad
ann. 439, it is stated that Seachnall, or Secun-
dinus, was sent to Ireland, along with two other
bishops, Auxilius and Isernius, to assist St. Pa-
trick. The only authority for making Secun-
dinus Archbishop of Armagh is a passage in the
Tripartite Life of St. Patrick (lib. iii. c. 81),
which states, that before St. Patrick set out for
Home in search of relics, he had intrusted
Secundinus with the care of the archbishopric

440.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

135

Laeghaire, Corcm, Daire the stern, Patrick, Benen, Cairneach0 the just,

Eoss, Dubhthach, Fearghus with goodness, the nine props these of the
Seanchus Mor.

The Age of Christ, 440. The twelfth year of Laeghaire. Maine, son of
Niall0 of the Nine Hostages, died.

The Age of Christ, 444. The sixteenth year of Laeghaire, son of Niall,
in the sovereignty.

The Age of Christ, 447. The nineteenth year of Laeghaire. Secundinus,
i. e. Seachnall Mac Ua Bairdp, the son of Patrick's sister, Darerca, Bishop of
Ard-Macha [Armagh], yielded his spirit on the twenty-seventh of November,
in the seventy-fifth year of his age.

The Age of Christ, 448. The twentieth year of Laeghaire.

The family of Patrick11 of the prayers, who had good Latin,

I remember ; no feeble court [were they], their order, and their names.

Sechnair, his bishop without fault ; Mochta* after him his priest ;

of Armagh and the primacy of Ireland ; but it
is very clear, from the whole tenor of Patrick's
proceedings, that he did not go to Rome on this
occasion ; and it is equally clear that Secundinus
was never Archbishop of Armagh, though he
might have resided there while Patrick was
preaching in other parts of Ireland.

i The family of Patrick. — This poem is very
incorrectly deciphered and translated by Dr.
O'Conor. His errors are corrected in this edi-
tion of it, from a fuller and better copy pre-
served in the Book of Lecan, fol. 44, b, and
from a prose list of the twenty-four persons
constituting the household of St. Patrick pre-
fixed to it. A list of the principal persons men-
tioned in this poem is also given by Evinus, in
the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, lib. iii. c. 98;
Trias Thaum., p. 167, col. i.

' Sechnall. — " Sanctus enim Secundinus Epis-
copus, fuit ipsius Vicarius in spiritualibus et
suffraganeus."— Evinus, Trias Thaum., p. 167,
col. i.

* Mochta — " Sanctus Mocteus fuit ejus Archi-
prsesby ter." — Evinus. This is Mocteus of Louth,
whose acts are given by Colgan at 24th March.
In the Calendar of Cashel and Martyrology of
Donegal, as quoted by Colgan, he is called bi-
shop, and Ware also gives him this title ; yet
Adamnan, in his second preface to the Life of
St. Columba, does not style him bishop ; but
merely calls him " Proselytus Brito, homo
sanctus, Sancti Patricii episcopi discipulus, Moc-
theus nomine." An epistle, referred to by most
of the Irish annalists, as written by Mocteus him-
self, was headed with these words : " Mauchteus
peccator presbyter, sancti Patricii discipulus, in
Domino salutem." In the Irish Calendar of
O'Clery it is stated that he lived to the age of
300 years ; and the Annals of Clonmacnoise
give him an age of 300 years and three days ;
but Colgan and Lanigan, after a careful exami-
nation of the errors of transcribers, and a com-
parison of collateral facts, have reduced his years
to 100, or 130.

136

[448.

Gppoj 6pc a bpeiceam bmn, a rpempeap Gppos TTlaccaeipann.

benen a pailmceaclaib paep, ajup Coerhan a riiacaeih.

Smell a pfp bein in cluic, ajup Cliccfn a pp coic.

Cpuimcep TTleapcan jan bine, a capa pa cipppipe.

Cpuimrep bepcnaic, binne a painn, pagapr meipe mic QlppamD.

Ct cpi gabaino, sapra a noealb, TDacecr, Laeban, ip popcceapno.

a cpi cepoa, pa mop par, Qepbuice, Uaipill, i ^apach.

t Bishop Ere. — " Sanctus Ercus Episcopus,
Cancellarius, et supremus judex in spirituali-
bus."— Evinus. He was the first Bishop of
Slane, which is described in the Irish Calendar
of O'Clery at 2nd November, and in a note in
the Feilire Aenguis, at 16th November, as Fertai
Fer Feic, by the side of Sidh-Truim, on the west.
The annals of Ulster refer his death to the year
514. See Ussher's Primord., p. 1047. His fes-
tival was held at Slane on the 2nd of November.

u Maccaeirthinn — Although he is not given
in Evinus's list of St. Patrick's household,
he is mentioned by him, in part iii. c. 3, as
" baculus senectutis ipsius, qui eum in hu-
meris gestabat." In the Book of Lecan he is
called "a rpenpeap," i. e. "his mighty man, or
champion." He was the, first Bishop of Clogher,
and died in the year 506 See Ussher's Pri-
mord., pp. 856, 1123. It is stated in the Irish
Calendar of O'Clery, at 15th August, that his
real name was Aedh, and that he was called
Feardachrioch when he was abbot of Dairinis.
His acts are given by Colgan, in his Ada Sanc-
torum, at 24th March, pp. 737-742.

w Benen, his psalmist. — Dr. O'Conor translates
this, " Benignus ejus Horarius (sive temporis
monitor) ;" but he is beneath criticism in this
and a thousand other instances. Colgan pub-
lished several chapters from the Life of this
saint in his Trias Thaum., p. 205. It is stated
that he became a bishop, and succeeded Patrick
at Armagh, in 455, and died in 468. He is said
to have been the original compiler of the Psalter

of Cashel, and of Leabhar na-gCeart. — See the
edition of that work printed for the Celtic So-
ciety, Introduction, pp. ii. to xi.

y Coemhan " Sanctus Coemanus de Kill-

Choemain, Cubicularius." — Evinus. See also
Colgan's Trias Thaum., p. 177, n. 88; and Ada
Sanctorum, pp. 312, 313. In the list of St.
Patrick's disciples given in the Book of Lecan,
he is called " Caeman Chille Riaba, Caemhan
of Kilready." Dr. O'Conor thinks that he was
the same as Coemhan of Enach-Truim, in Leix ;
but this is impossible, for the latter was the
brother of St. Kevin of Glendalough, who died
in the year 618.

1 Sindl, his bell-ringer This is incorrectly

printed " Sribhall feair bunadaig," by Dr.
O'Conor. In the list of St. Patrick's household,
preserved in the Book of Lecan, this line reads,
" Smell u pep bein in cluic, i. e. Sinell was his
Bell-ringer." Evinus calls him " Senellus de Kill-
dareis, Campanarius," on which Colgan writes the
following note in his Trias Thaum., p. 1 88, n. 1 20 :
" Cum Cill-dareis idem sit ac cella duarum pal-
marum, siveduabus palmis lata; forte haec cella,
est, qu« aliter Carcuir Sinchill, i. e. reclusorium
Sinelli, nuncupatur, jacetque in insula lacus,
Loch Melge appellati, in finibus septentrionalis
Connacise." In the prose list preserved in the
Book of Lecan he is called " Smell Chilli aipip
a aipnpe, i. e. Sinell of Killairis, his Ostiarius."

a Aithcen This is printed Aithreoir by Dr.

O'Conor. Evinus calls him " Athgenius de
Both-domnaich, coquus," which perfectly agrees

448.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

137

Bishop Ere1 his sweet-spoken Judge ; his champion, Bishop Maccaeirthinn";

Benen, his psalmist"; and Coemhany, his chamberlain ;

Sinel? his bell-ringer, and Aithcen* his true cook ;

The priest Mescan", without evil, his friend and his brewer ;

The priest Bescna0, sweet his verses, the chaplain of the son of Alprann.

His three smiths'1, expert at shaping, Macecht, Laebhan6, and Fortchernf.

His three artificers8, of great endowment, Aesbuite, Tairill, and Tasach.

with the prose list in the Book of Lecan. He is
the patron saint of the church of Badoney, in
the valley of Gleann-Aichle, near Strabane, in
Tyrone — See Trias Thaum. p. 188, n. 121. His
pedigree is thus given by O'Clery : " Aithgen,
of Both-Domhnaigh, son of Dael, son of Maisin,
son of Fearghus, son of Duach, son of Breasal,
son of Colla Meann, son of Eochaidh Doimhlen."

b Mescan. — Evinus calls him " Sanctus Mes-
chanus de Domnach" [Mescain] "juxta Foch-
muine fluvium, Cerviciarius." The word in
brackets, which was erroneously omitted by Col-
gan, has been supplied from the prose list in
the Book of Lecan. His church was situated
near the River Fochmhuine, now the Faughan,
in the county of Londonderry, but it has not
been yet identified.

c Bescna. — " Sanctus Beschna praesbyter de
Domnach - dala, Sacellanus." — Evinus. This
church, which is called Domhnach-Dula in the
prose list in the Book of Lecan, was in the plain
of Magh-dula, through which the River Moyola,
in the south of the county of Londonderry, flows.
—See Trias Thaum., p. 188, n. 123.

A His three smiths — Evinus, as edited by Col-
gan, mentions but two smiths of St. Patrick,
thus : " Sanctus Maccectus de Domnach-loebain,
qui reliquiarium illud famosum Finn-faidheach
nuncupatum fabricavit, et Sanctus Fortchernus
de Rath-aidme duo fabri ferrarii." But this is
obviously a blunder of Colgan's, as Loebhan was
unquestionably the saintofDomhnach-Loebhain.
In the prose list in the Book of Lecan the former

is called TTlaccecc 6 Ooriinac Ctpnoin, i. e. Mac- '
cecht of Domhnach Arnoin. The text of Evinus
should stand corrected thus : " Sanctus Mac-
cectus" [de Domnach-Arnoin, et Sanctus Loeba-
nus] "de Domnach-loebain, qui reliquiarium
illud famosum Finn-faidheach nuncupatum fabri-
cavit ; et Sanctus Fortchernus de Rath-Semni,
tres fabri ferrarii." The words in brackets shew
what has been evidently omitted in Colgan's
edition of the Tripartite Life.

' Laebhan. — There are two saints of this name
mentioned in the Irish Calendar of the O'Clerys,
one on the 1st of June, called Loebhan of Ath-
Eguis, and the other on the 9th of August.
Colgan states that Domhnach-Loebhain was
called Cill-Loebhain in his own time, and that
it was a parish church in the diocese of Clon-
fert. — Trias Thaum., p. 188, n. 129. It is evi-
dently the church now called Killian.

' Fortchern — " Sanctus Fortchernus de Rath-
aidme, faber ferrarius." — Evinus. In the prose
list in the Book of Lecan he is called " pop-
chepn i Raic Semni," i. e. Fortchern of Rath-
Semhni. He was the son of the Monarch Laegh-
aire mac Neill, and had a church at Ath-
Truim, now Trim, in Meath, and another at
Cill-Fortchern, in Idrone, in the present county
of Callow. His festival was celebrated at both
places on the 1 1th of October.

6 His three artificers. — Evinus names them
as follows : " Sanctus Essa, Sanctus Biteus, ac
Sanctus Tassa, tres fabri serarii, vasorumque
sacrorum fabricatores." In the prose list in the

13s

Rioghachca

a cpi opumecha nac Dip, Lupaio, Gpca, Cpuimcipip.
O&pan a apagan oil, Rooan, mac bpaja a Buacail,
Ippip, Cijpip, if Gpca, agup domain la Gibeacca,
Paopuis pop poppan an becpa, OoiB po ba ceapb peapca,
Caipniuc pajapc pon baipc, ^epman a oioe can aipg,
Cpuimcep TTlanac pa mop pac, a pep coip pa connaoac.
TTlac oa piap banban co mblaiD, TTlapcam bpdcaip arhdcap.
l?apa po goc ap oglac, TTloconnoc a comjapmac.

[448.

Book of Lecan, they are called eppu 1
Capon, and nevertheless in Flann's poem, which
is given as the authority for that list, they are
called Girpmire, GctipiU, Cayxic. The last only
has been identified. He was the patron saint of
Rath-Cholptha, now Raholp village, near Saul,
in the county of Down. The other two names
have been so corrupted by transcribers that
they are difficult to determine. Colgan thinks
that Essa should be Ossa, or Ossan, as Patrick
had a disciple of that name, whose memory was
venerated at Trim, in Meath. He makes no
attempt at identifying Bite, or Biteus. The Irish
Calendar of O'Clery gives a saint of that name
at 22nd July, as Biteus, abbot of Inis-Cumh-
scraidhe, now Inishcourcy, near Downpatrick.
Tairill is found in Flann's poem only.

h His three embroiderers. — " Sanota Lupita,
Tigrida, et Crumtheris textrices et sacrorum
linteorum erant confectrices." — Evinus.

In the prose list in the Book of Lecan they
are named thus : " Q cpi opumecha .1. 6upaio,
-| Gpc, mjenDaipi,-] Cpuimchepip, i.e. Lupaid,
and Ere, daughter of Dairi, and Crumtheris."
The Lupaid here mentioned was Lupita, Pa-
trick's own sister. Ere, the daughter of Dairi,
was no other than Ergnata, the daughter of
Dairi, King'of Oirther, who granted Armagh to
Saint Patrick. — See a very strange story about
her in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, lib. iii.
c. 72. Crumtheris was a lady of royal birth,
who lived in solitude on the hill of Kenngobha,

to the east of Armagh — See Vit. Trip., lib. iii.
c. 74; Trias Thaum., p. 163.

' Odhran. — Evinus calls him " Sanctus Odra-
nus de Disert-Odhrain in Hifalgia, auriga,"
which perfectly agrees with the prose list in
the Book of Lecan : " Oopcm 6 Oir-epc Oopain
a jilla apao." He is mentioned in all the Lives
of St. Patrick published by Colgan — See Vita
Tripart., part iii. c. 56, where there is a curious
story told about an attempt made by an Irish
chieftain to murder St. Patrick.

i Rodan Dr. O'Conor prints this Rochan.

Evinus calls him " Sanctus Rodanus, Armenta-
rius." In the prose list in the Book of Lecan,
he is called " Rooan a Buacail."

k Ippis, &c These are said to have been the

five sisters of St. Patrick ; but Dr. Lanigan has
attempted to shew that St. Patrick had no real
sisters in Ireland, and thinks that these were
religious women who were called his sisters in
a spiritual, not carnal sense. — See his Ecclesias-
tical History of Ireland, vol. i. pp. 125, 126, where
this acute historian writes : " Still more un-
founded are the stories concerning St. Patrick's
sisters, who are said to have been with him in
Ireland, and their numberless children. Part
of this stuff is given by Ussher (Primordia,
p. 824, seqq.) ; but Colgan has collected the whole
of it in a large dissertation — (Trias Thaum.,
p. 224, seqq.)"

1 Cairniuch. — It is so printed by Dr. O'Conor,
who says in a note : " Omnes vita; vetustiores

448.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

139

His three embroiderers", not despicable, Lupaid, Erca, and Cruimthiris.
Odhran', his charioteer, without blemish, Rodanj, son of Braga, his shepherd.
Ippisk, Tigris, and Erca, and Liamhain, with Eibeachta :
For them Patrick excelled in wonders, for them he was truly miraculous.
Carniuch1 was the priest that baptized him ; German"1 his tutor, without ble-
mish.

The priest Manachn, of great endowment, was his man for supplying wood.
His sister's son0 was Banban, of fame ; Martinp his mother's brother.
Most sapient was the youth Mochonnocq, his hospitaller.

eum appellant Gorniam."

In the copy of Flann's poem, preserved in the
Book of Lecan, the reading is : " ^opmap 1n
jxjcapr po Baipc, Le. Gornias the priest who
baptized him."

m German All the Lives of Patrick agree

that St. Germanus was his tutor. Colgan at-
tempts to shew that Patrick had been under his
tuition as early as the year 396 ; but the acute
Dr. Lanigan clearly proves (vol. i. p. 161), that
Patrick could not have been under the direction
of St. German before the year 418.

n Manach. — Evinus calls him : " Sanctus
Monachus prasbyter focarius lignorumque pro-
visor." In the prose list in the Book of Lecan
he is called " Cpuimcfp TTlanac a peap o^nriia
connai j, i. e. Cruimhther Manach his provider
of wood."

0 His sister's son In the copy of Flann's

poem, in the Book of Lecan, the reading is,
"Sfnnan a Bpacaip co mblao, i. e. Seannan
was his brother" [or cousin] " of fame." Nei-
ther name has been identified with true history,
and it is more than probable that both owe their
existence to the errors of the transcribers.

f Martin In the Tripartite Life, apud

Colgan (Trias Thaum., p. 1 17), it is stated that
Conchessa, St. Patrick's mother, was the sister
or relative of St. Martin : " Conchessa Ecbatii
filia ex Francis oriunda, et S. Martini soror, seu

cognata, ejus mater fuit." But Dr. Lanigan
thinks that there is not sufficient authority to
prove this fact : " There is a sort of tradition
that she" [Conchessa] " was a near relative of
the great St. Martin of Tours, either his sister,
or, what is less improbable, a niece of his. I
have not been able to find any sufficient autho-
rity for it ; and it seems to be founded on a mis-
take, in consequence of its having been said that
St. Patrick, after his release from captivity,
spent some time with St. Martin at Tours." —
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland, vol. i. p. 124.

q Mochonnoc. — " Sanctus Catanus praesbyter,
et Ocanotus prsesbyter duo hospitalarii, sive hos-
pitum ministri." — Evinus.

In the prose list in the Book of Lecan the
reading is : " Cpuimcep Caoan 6 Camlaccam
Gpooa, i Cpuimcep m6pojan a oa popme'pi;
i. e. Priest Cadan of Tamlaghtard, and Priest
Brogan, his two waiters."

The memory of St. Cadan, or Catanus, is still
held in great veneration in the parish of Tam-
laghtard, or Ardmagilligan, in the barony of
Keenaght, and county of Londonderry. Colgan
gives the acts of Mochonnoc at llth February,
and states that he flourished about A. D. 492;
but Dr. Lanigan shews that he lived at a much
later period. — See his Ecclesiastical History of
Ireland, vol. i. p. 425. The Brogan of the prose
list in the Book of Lecan is evidently intended
2

140

[449.

Cpibpi ip Lappa na leano, injeana jlana
TTlacpaib cap pai abip ay 6pc, pa capnjaip pe na rpi uiDeacc
bpojan pjpibnib a pcoile, Cpuimcep Loga a luamaipe.
Noca ne nf nac canca, agup TTlacui a pipoatca
TTlaic peap oampac muinncep mop Da oapo Oia bacaill cen bpon,
plaici ca cluinncep na ctuic, muinnrep maic muincep phaopuijj.
In Upmoio jprpean ap cue oailea Duino maic mopjpac
pan poem cpe aircin mbuic, pa poep DO paccip

Cfoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo cfcpachac anaoi. blia&am ap pichic Do Laoj-
aip). CtrhalgaoiD, mac piacpac, mic Gachac TnuTbmf&oin, Diobaib. Uaibe
Uip nQrhal5ai6.

Qoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceD caocca a cpf. Qn cuicceaD blia&ain pichear
Do Laojaipe. CachppaeineaD mop pm Caojaipe mac Nell pop Lai jmb.

Goip Cpiopn, cficpe ceo caocca a cfcaip. Ct pe pichfc DO Laojaipe.
peip Ueampa la Laojjaipe, mac Nell.

for Brocan, or Brocanus, one of the nephews of
St. Patrick, mentioned in the Tripartite Life. —
Trias Thaum., pp. 129, 136.

' Cribri and Lasra. — These are called Crebrea
and Lassera in the Tripartite (Trias Thaum.,
p. 141), where it is stated that they were the
daughters of Glerannus, son of Cumineus, and
lived at the church of Kill-Forclann, near Kil-
lala. Dr. O'Conor, with this evidence before
him, translates Gleaghrann by candidce as if it
were an epithet of the virgins, and not their
father's name.

s Macraidh, fyc., and Ere — The text is clearly
corrupt here, and the copy in the Book of Lecan
affords no clue to the correction of it.

1 Brogan — He was the Brocanus, nephew of
St. Patrick, mentioned by Jocelin in c. 50, and
by Evinus (ubi supra).

u Logha — In the copy of Flann's poem in the
Book of Lecan he is called Cpuimcep Cujna,
which is more correct. His tombstone is still
preserved near Templepatrick, or Patrick's

church, on the island of Insi Goill, in Lough
Corrib, with the following inscription : " 6ie
lujnaeoon mace Imenueh, i. e. the stone of
Lugna Don, son of Lemenueh." This inscrip-
tion, which was discovered by Dr. Petrie, who
published a fac-simile of it, in his Inquiry into
the Origin and Uses of the Hound Towers of Ire-
land, p. 162, is the oldest literal monument yet
discovered in Ireland. It establishes the exis-
tence of Lughna and Lemenueh beyond dis-
pute, but nothing of a similar antiquity has
been discovered to prove their relationship to
the Irish Apostle.

w MachuL — He was St. Mochai, of Endrom,
in Loch Cuan, one of St. Patrick's earliest con-
verts, to whom he gave a copy of the Gospels
and what was called a Ministeir, or portable re-
liquary : " Baptizavit eum ac totondit, et dedit
ei Evangelium> et Ministeir." — Vita Sec., c. 32.

* May the Trinity. — In the book of Lecan, the
poem of Flann on St. Patrick's household con-
cludes thus :

449-]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

141

Cribri and Lasrar, of mantles, beautiful daughters of Gleaghrann.

Macraith the wise, and Ercs, — he prophesied in his three wills.

Brogan', the scribe of his school ; the priest Logha", his helmsman, —

It is not a thing unsung, — and Machui™ his true fosterson.

Good the man whose great family they were, to whom God gave a crozier

without sorrow ;

Chiefs with whom the bells are heard, a good family was the family of Patrick.
May the Trinity1, which is powerful over all, distribute to us the boon of great

love ;
The king who, moved by soft Latin, redeemed by Patrick's prayer.

The Age of Christ, 449. The twenty-first year of Laeghaire. Amhal-
ghaidhy, s^on of Fiachra, son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin, died. From him
Tir-Amhalghaidh [is named].

The Age of Christ, 453. The twenty-fifth year of Laeghaire. A great
defeat [was given] by Laeghaire to the Leinstermen.

The Age of Christ, 454. The twenty-sixth year of Laeghaire. The feast
of Teamhair [was celebrated] by Laeghaire, son of Niall.

"Q nimpioi pn le piano, co pia pochpaic can

impall,

Co mine icep plaiciB niriie, ac maichiB na
muinnpe."

" These" [saints] " are implored by Flann, that

he may obtain reward without doubt,
With meekness amongst the nobles4bf heaven,
through the chiefs of this family."

Dr. O'Conor says that he does not know
whence the Four Masters copied this poem. It
is not contained in either of the Dublin copies,
and Dr. O'Conor's printed copy of it is corrupted
to agree with his own idea of the meaning. The
copy of Flann's poem preserved in the Book of
Lecan, fol. 44, b., is much better and more co-
pious, and contains the names of several officers
of Patrick's household not mentioned in Evin's
list, or even in the prose list prefixed to the poem
itself in the.Book of Lecan, such as Cromdumhan,

his mucaibe, or swineherd ; his three builders,
Caemhan, Cruithnech, and Luchraidh ; his three
physicians, Sechnan, Ogma, Aithemail ; his libra-
rian, Setna, the Pious, son of Corcran, &c., &c.
Ussher quotes this poem (Primordia, p. 895), as
written in very ancient Irish verses, giving a
catalogue of St. Patrick's domestics, as authority
for the existence of a Senex Patricius, ceano a
ppuichi penopach, who died, according to the
Annals of Connaught, in the year 454.

y Amhcdghaidh. — He was King of Connaught
about the year 434, when he was converted
to Christianity by St. Patrick, together wi{h
12,000 men. — See Genealogies, fyc., ofHy-Fiach-
racfi, pp. 310, 462. See also, for the oldest ac-
count of this conversion, the Book of Armagh,
fol. 10, 11 ; Ussher's Primordia, p. 864. The
territory of Tir-Amhalghaidh, now the barony
of Tirawley, on the west of the River Moy, in
the county of Mayo, derived its name from him.

142

[456.

8. Upaille Gppucc a Chill Upaille hi Lipe [oecc] fleun. du^pc.

Cfoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceD caocca ape. Ct hochc pichfc Do Laojaipe.
6nDa, mac Cacba&a, Oecc.

doip Cpiopc, cfirpe ceo caoja a peachc. Q naoi pichfc Do Laojaipe.
Cach Ctcha Dapa pia Caijmb pop Laojaipe, mac Nell. Ro jabab Dna
Caojaipe ipm each pin,-) DO paD Caojaipe pacha gpene •] gaoiche,-) na
noul DO Laijnib nac ciocpab poppa cpia bichu, ap a legaD ua&a.

QpD TTlacha opochuccab la Naom pacpaicc mp na fohbaipc Do 6 Ohaipe
mac pionncaba mic Gogham mic Niallain. T?o hoiponroh Da pip Decc laip
ppi cumoac an baile. T?o chionchoipcc Doib cfcup, cachaip aipoeppcoip Do
6fnam ipuiDe, -] ecclup DO manchaib, -| Do chailleacha, -| DupDaib oile
apchfna Doigh po pinDpiom combab pi buD cfnn, -] bub clfiche oeccailpib
Gpfnn a coicchinne.

Sean pacpaicc Do paoibfoh a ppiopaioe.

z Oil- Usaille : i. e. the Church of Auxilius,
now Killossy, near Naas, in the county of Kil-
dare. No part of the old church of Killossy
now remains, but there is a part of an ancient
round tower, with a square base, attached to
the modern church, which bespeaks the anti-
quity of the place. — See Ussher's Primordia,
pp. 826, 827 ; and Colgan's Acta Sanctorum,
p. 658. The Annals of Ulster place the death
of Auxilius in the year 460, which is the cor-
rect date.

' Ath-dara: i. e. the Ford of the Oak. In the
Irish historical tract called Borumha-Laighean,
this ford is described as on the Kiver Bearbha,
[Barrow] in the plain of Magh-Ailbhe. There
was a earn erected on the brink of the river, in
which the heads of the slaughtered forces of
Leath-Chuinn were interred. The notice of this
battle is entered in the Annals of Ulster, under
the year 458, as follows:

" An. 458. Car Qra oapa pop 6aojaipe pe
taijnib, in quo et ipse captus est, sed tune dimis-
sus est, jurans per Solem et Vmtum se loves eis
dimissurum,n i. e. " The battle of Ath-dara"

[was gained] " over Laeghaire by the Leinster-
men, in which he himself was taken prisoner ;
but he was then set at liberty, swearing by the
Sun and the Wind that he would remit them
the Borumha." Mageoghegan gives it as fol-
lows, in English, in his Annals of Clonmacnoise :

" The Lynstermen fought the battle of Ath-
dara against King Lagerie, wherein King La-
gerie himself was taken captive, and his army
altogether overthrown ; but the King was en-
larged uppn his oath by the Sun and Moon
(which was solemnly sworn by him) to restore
them their cows."

Here it is quite evident that Mageoghegan
translated this last clause, " to restore them
their cows," from a Latin original: "seboves
eis dimissurum." But this is clearly not the
meaning intended by the original annalist. In
the account of this battle preserved in Ledbhar na
h- Uidhri, fol. 76, b. 2, it is stated that Laeghaire
swore by the Sun and Moon, the Water and the
Air, Day and Night, Sea and Land, that he
would never again, during life, demand the Bo-
rumean tribute of the Leinstermen. ' Connn

456.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

143

Saint Usaille, Bishop of Cill Usaillez, in Liffe, [died] on the twenty-seventh
of August.

The Age of Christ, 456. The twenty-eighth year of Laeghaire. Enda,
son of Cathbhadh, died.

The Age of Christ, 45J. The twenty-ninth year of Laeghaire. The battle
of Ath-daraa [was fought] against the Leinstermen by Laeghaire, son of Niall.
Laeghaire was taken in that battle ; and Laeghaire took oaths by the Sun and
the Wind, and [all] the elements, to the Leinstermen, that he would never come
against them, after setting him at liberty.

Ard-Macha" was founded by Saint Patrick, it having been granted to him
by Daire, son. of Finnchadh0, son of Eoghan, son of Niallan. Twelve men were
appointed by him for building the town. He ordered them, in the first place,
to erect an archbishop's cityd there, and a church for monks, for nuns, and for
the other orders in general, for he perceived that it would be the head and chief
of the churches of Ireland in general.

Old Patrick6 yielded his spirit.

in m&opomi c£m bao beo.' And this
is the true meaning even of the Latin, ' se boves
eis dimissurum.' "

b Ard-Macha: i.e. the Height of Macha, a
woman's name. Some say that she was Macha,
the wife of Nemhidh. — See Magh- Macha, p. 1 0,
note w, supra ; but others will have it that she
was the more celebrated Macha Mongruadh, the
foundress of the royal fortEmania, near Armagh.
Ussher (Primordia, p. 854) thought that the
name was compounded of ard, high, and mocha,
a field ; but no Irish scholar ever gave it that
interpretation. The Annals of Ulster refer the
foundation of Armagh to the year 444 :

" A. D. 444. Ardmachafundata est. Ab urbe
condita usque ad- hunc urbem fundatum MCXCIV."
— See also Ussher's Primordia, pp. 854, 855, et
seq.; and Colgan's Trias Thanm., p. 293.

c Daire, son of Finnchadh This Daire, who

was chief of Regio Orientalium, now the Oriors,
in the county of Armagh, was a descendant of
Colla Dachrich. From his uncle, Muireadhach,

son of Eoghan, son of Niallan, the O'Hanlons of
Crioch-na-nOirther, now the baronies of Orior,
in the county of Armagh, are descended.

d An archbishop's city — For a curious account
of the erection of Armagh the reader is referred
to the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, as published
by Colgan, part iii. c. 78, Trias Thaum., p. 164.

' Old Patrick — In the poem of Flann on the
household of St. Patrick, as preserved in the
Book of Lecan, fol. 44, b, and as quoted by
Ussher (Primord. p. 895), he is made the head
of St. Patrick's seniors : " Caput sapientum
seniorum ejus."

The Annals of Connaught, as quoted by
Ussher, refer his death to the year 453, and the
Annals of Ulster to 457- According to the
Feilire-Aenguis, this Sean Phadruig, or older
Patrick, was the tutor of the great Apostle of
Ireland ; and the glossographer adds that he
was the Patrick of Glastonbury — See Petrie's
Antiquities of Tara Hill, p. 73. Dr. Lanigan
scoffs at the idea of the existence of any other

144

[458.

doip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo, caocca a hochc. lap mbfic ofic mbliabra pichfc
hi pijhe nGpeann Do Laojaipe mac NeU Naoigiallaij; acbac i rcaob Caippi
eoip Gpinn -\ dlbain .1. Da cnoc laDpi&e pilfc in Uib paoldin,-] spian -] gaoch
pop mapbpom ap pa papaij IOD. ConiD Do pin acbfpc an pill,

Qcbach Laojaipe mac Nell '
pop caob caippi glap a cfp
Duile De aDpaejaio paich
rucpar Dail mbaip poppan pigh.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo caocca anaoi. Ctn ceio bliaoain DOilill TTlolr,
mac Oachi, mic piachpach, hi pije nGpenn.

Qoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo peapcca a DO. Qn cfcparhaD bliaoam oOilill.
Oomhanjopc mac Nippi Decc.

Qoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceD peapca acpi. Qn cuicceab bbabain oOilill.
peip Ceampa la hOilill TTlolc an bliabainpi.

St. Patrick except the great Apostle of Ireland,
but he is evidently over-sceptical.

' Thirty years O'Flaherty says that the

thirty years allowed to his reign must be un-
derstood as subsequent to the conversion of the
Irish to Christianity : " Ut in Codice Lecano
(foL 306, a) ita Latine explicatur : Triginta annis
regnum Hibernice post advenlum Patridi tenuit."
— Ogygia, p. 249. "With this account the cu-
rious computation of Tirechan, in the Book of
Armagh, very nearly accords, as follows :

" A passione autem Christi cotteguntur anni
436, usque ad mortem Patridi. Duobus autem
vel v. annis regnavit Loiguire post mortem Patridi.
Omnis autem regniillius tempos xxxvi. utputarnus."
— fol. 9, a. 2.

6 He died. — According to the historical tract
called the BorumJia Leaghan, Laeghaire, in two
years and a half after swearing by the elements
that he would never again demand the Borumha,
made an incursion into Leinster and seized a prey
of cows at Sidh-Neachtain, where the Boyne has
its source ; but as he advanced to the side of

Caissi, the elements wreaked their vengeance
upon him, that is, the Air forsook him, the Sun
burned him, and the Earth swallowed him. His
death is entered in the Annals of Clonmacnoise
as follows :

" King Lagerie died an ill death. Some say
he sunk down in the Earth between the two
hills, neer the River of Liffie, called Ireland and
Scotland, but the most part agree that he was
stroken dead at a place called Taev Caisy, neere
the Liffie, by the Wynde and Sun, for forswear-
ing himself to the Lynstermen, for the restitu-
tion of the Cowes, which he was sworne to per-
forme at the time of his captivity. He died
about the year 458."

The Annals of Tighernach and the Annals of
Ulster state that Laeghaire met his death at
Greallach Gaifill [or Daphill], in Campo-Life,
between the hills Ere and Alba, and that the
Leinstermen asserted that the Sun and the
Wind killed him.

In the very curious account of the death of
Laeghaire, preserved in the Lealhar-na h Uidhri,

458.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

145

The Age of Christ, 458. After Laeghaire, the son of Niall of the Nine
Hostages, had been thirty yearsf in the sovereignty of Ireland, he diedg by the
side of Caissi, between Eire and Alba, i. e. two hills which are in Ui-Faelain ;
and [it was] the Sun and the Wind that killed him, because he had violated
them. Concerning which the poet said :

Laeghaire, son of Niall", died

On the side of Caissi, green its land ;

The elements of God, whose guarantee he had violated,

Inflicted the doom of death upon the king.

The Age of Christ, 459. The first year of Oilioll Molt, son of Dathi, son
of Fiachra, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 462. The fourth year of Oilioll. Domhangort1, son^
of Nissi, died.

The Age of Christ, 463. The fifth year of Oilioll. The feast of Teamhair*
[was celebrated] by Oilioll Molt this year.

it is stated that it had been prophesied to him
that he would come by hia death between Ere
and Alba [Ireland and Scotland], for which
reason he [unlike his father, Niall] never went
on any naval expedition, that he went a second
time, without regard to his oaths, with a great
army, against the Leinstermen, to demand the
Borumean tribute ; but that, when he reached
Greallach-Daphill, by the side of Cassi, in Magh
Liphi, between the two hills, Ere and Alba, he
was killed by the Sun and the Wind, and the
other elements by which he had sworn. It is
further stated that the body of Laeghaire was
afterwards carried to Tara, and interred with
his weapons upon him in the south-east of the
external rampart of Eath-Laeghaire, at Tara,
with his face turned towards the Lagenians, as
if in the attitude of fighting with them. The
fact of his body being so interred is also men-
tioned in the Annotations of Tireachan, in the
Book of Armagh, and it is added that Laeghaire
could not believe in the Christian religion,

because he had made a promise to his father,
Niall, that he would not swerre.from the Pagan
customs :

" Sed non potuit credere dicens : Nam Neel
pater meus non sinivit mini credere, sed ut
sepeliar in cacuminibus Temro, quasi viris con-
sistentibus in bello : quia utuntur Gentiles in
sepulchris armati prumptis armis facie ad faciem
usque ad diem Erdathe apud Magos, id est,
judicii diem Domini." — fol. 1 0, a, 2. See Petrie's
Antiquities of Tara Hill, pp. 145, 146.

b Laeghaire, son of Niall. — This quatrain is
also quoted in Leabhar-na-hUidhri, but the
author's name is nowhere mentioned.

' Domhangort He was King of Alba, or

Scotland, according to the Ann. of Clon.

k The feast of Teamhair. — Thus noticed in the
Annals of Ulster : " Cena Temra la hAilill Molt,
Sic in Libro Cuanach inveni." And in the
Annals of Clonmacnoise, as follows : " King
Oilill Molt made the Great Feast of Taraghe,
called Feis-Taragh."

146

[464.

Chip Cpiope, cecpe cheo pfpcca a cfeaip. Qn peipeab bliabain oOilill.
Car Duma Clichip pia Laijnib pop Cdlill Hlolc.

Conall ^ulban, mac Neill Naoijiallaij, (o ccdcc Cenel cConaill) Do
mapbab la pfn cuachaib Hlaije plechc lap na pojbdil i mbaojal, -\ a aona-
cal i ppio&nac TTlhaije Rein, la Naom Caillm, arhail aipneibfp beaca an

naoirh perhpaice.

Qoip Cpiopc, ceicpe ceo peapccac a cuicc. Ctn peaccrhab blmDain
DOilill ITlolc. Peip Ceampa la hOilill ITlolc.

Gojan.mac Neill Naoijiallaij, (6 ccaccCenel nGojain), oecc Do chumaib
Chonaill ^hulban, mic Neill Naoijiallaig,-] a abnacal i nUipge caofn i nlmp
Gojam, oia nebpab.

Qcbac 6ojan, mac Neill,
pe oeopaib, bd maic a maoin,
cpe ecc Chonaill na ccleap ccpuaib,
50 ppuil a uaij i nUipcce caoin.

Cpiomcann, mac 6nt>a Cenpelai j, pi Laijfn, DO mapbao la mac a injine
bubein, .1. GochaiD ^u'11^" Do ^1D baippce.

Qoip Cpiopc, ceichpe ceo peapcca a pe. Q hochc oOilill. peip Ueampa
la hOilill ITlolc.

Qoip Cpiopr, cfirpe cheo peapcca a peace. Qnaoi oOilill mole, beneri,
mac Seipccnem, eppcop QpDa maca, DO paoibfo a ppiopaicce.

i Dumha-Aichir : i. e. Aicher's or Heber's
mound. Not identified.

m The Cinel-Conaill: i. e. the Race of Conall,
i. e. the O'Donnells, and their correlative fami-
lies in Tirconnell, or the county of Donegal.

n Magh-Slecht. — According to the Book of
Fenagh, Conall Gulban was killed by the Mas-
raidhe, an ancient tribe of the Firbolgs, who
were seated in the plain of Magh Slecht (around
Ballymagauran, in the north-west of the county
of Cavan). He had gone upon a predatory ex-
cursion into their territory, and seized upon a
great prey of horses; but he was pursued and
overtaken at Loch Saloch, near Fenagh, in the
county of Leitrim, where he was slain and

buried — See note % at A. M. 3656, p. 43,
supra.

° Saint Caillin. — This is clearly an anachro-
nism, and is a fabrication of the writer of the
Life of St. Caillin, preserved in the Book of
Fenagh. St. Caillin was contemporary with St.
Columbkille, and could not have been born in
the year 464, much less abbot of Fenagh in
Magh-Rein.

p Cinel-JEoghain : i. e. the Race of Eoghan.
These were the O'Neills, Mac Loughlins, and
their correlatives in Tyrone.

q Uisce- Chain. — Now anglice Eskaheen. This
is the name of au old chapel near a beautiful
well from which the name is derived, in a town-

464.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 147

The Age of Christ, 464. The sixth year of Oilioll. The battle of Dumha-
Aichir' [was fought] by the Leinstermen, against Oilioll Molt.

Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (from whom are descended
the Cinel-Conaillm), was slain by the old tribes of Magh-Slechtn, he having been
found unprotected, and was buried at Fidhnach-Maighe-Rein, by Saint Caillin0,
as the Life of the aforesaid saint relates.

The Age of Christ, 465. The seventh year of Oilioll Molt. The feast of
Teamhair [was celebrated] by Oilioll Molt.

Eoghan, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (from whom are descended the
Cinel-Eoghainp), died of grief for Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the Nine Hos-
tages, and was buried at Uisce-Chainq, in Inis-Eoghain ; concerning which was

said :

Eoghan, son of Niall, died

Of tears, — good his nature, —

In consequence of the death of Conall, of hard feats,

So that his grave is at Uisce-Chain.

Crimhthann', son of Enda Censelach, King of Leinster, was killed by the
son of his own daughter, i. e. Eochaidh Guineach, [one] of the Ui-Bairrche*.

The Age of Christ, 466. The eighth year of Oilioll Molt.

The Age of Christ, 467. The ninth year of Oilioll Molt. Benen', son of
Sescnen, Bishop of Ard-Macha [Armagh], resigned his spirit.

land of the same name, in the barony of Inis- it will be shewn from authorities of great anti-

Eoghan [Inishowen], in the county of Donegal, quity, he fought at the battle of Ocha in 482 or

The grave of Eoghan is not known there at 483, q. v.

present. Colgan says that Uske-chaoin was, in * Ui-Bairrche : i. e. the descendants of Daire

his own time, a chapel, but that it was anciently Barrach, the second son of Cathaeir Mor, Mo-

a monastery. — See Trias Thaum., p. 495, col. 1. narch of Ireland in the second century. They

It is the birth-place of the celebrated Janus were seated in the barony of Slewmargy, in the

Janius Eoganesius, or John Toland, whose real Queen's County, and possessed also some of

name was O'Tuathalain, and of whom there are the adjoining districts — See Leabhar-na-gCeart,

still very vivid traditions preserved in the p. 212, note k.

neighbourhood. — See Harris's edition of Ware's 'Benen: i'. e. Benignus. The death ofBe-

Writers of Ireland, p. 278 and p. 281, line 3. nignus is entered in the Annals of Ulster at the

'Crimhthann. — According to the Annals of same year: " Quies Benigni Episcopi, successoris

Clonmacnoise he was killed in the battle of Patricii." — See note w, under the year 432,

Ardcorran; but this is clearly a mistake, for, p. 136, supra.

u2

148

Rioghachca

[468.

Qoip Cpiopc, ceicpe cheo peapcca a hochc. Q haon nOecc t>Oilill.
Oopnjal 6pi 6le pop Laijnib pm nOilill TTlolc.

Qoip Cpiopc, ceicpe cheo peaccmojacc. Qn Oapa bliaOam Oecc oOilill.
Cach Ourha Qicip pop Ctilill TTIolc pm LaijmB.

Qoip Cpiopc, ceicpe cheo peachcmojacc aoo. Qn cfcpamab bliaoain
Decc oOilill. Uoca, mac Qo6a, mic Sfnaij, caoipeac Cpiche Cualann hi
oecc.

Qoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo peaccmojac a cfcaip. Q pe Oecc bOilitl. Gipc,
mac Gachach TTluinpearhaip, Decc.

Qoip Cpiopr, cficpe ceo peaccmojac a cuicc. Q peace Decc DOilill.
Conall Cpemcoinn, mac Nell Naoijiallaij, op cinpfc clanna Colmain -\ Sfol
Qo6a Slaine Decc.

Qoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo peaccmojac ape. Q hochc Oecc oOilill. Cac
£)panaipo pia nGochaib, mac Coipppe, mic Oililla, mic Ounlaing, mic Gnoa
Nia6, pop pijh Laijfn, Ppaoc, mac pionncaba, mic ^appcon, mic pochaib,
mic Gachoach LdmDoiO, mic TTlepin Cuipb, •] Do cfp Ppaoch ipuiDe.

Qoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceO peaccmojac a hochc. lap mbeich piche bliaDam

u The boxing battle — This battle, which ap-
pears to have been nothing more than a boxing
match between the pugilistic champions of
Leinster and Meath, is noticed in the Annals of
Ulster at the year 473, as " Dopnjal 6pt 6le ;"
but it is again entered under the year 475, as,
"£eUum Bri-Ele, sic in Libra Cuanach invent;"
and again under 478. There can scarcely, how-
ever, be a doubt that the three entries refer
to the one battle only, and that the difference
of date is owing to their having been transcribed
from different authorities. In the old English
translation of the Annals of Ulster, preserved in
the British Museum, Claren. torn. 49, Ayscough,
4795, the term t)opn jal is translated " the
handle skirmish." It may be here observed
that the wrestling matches, which continued to
be carried on in the Phoenix Park, between the
men of Meath and Kildare, and which sometimes
terminated in boxing matches, would seem to

have been a continuation of this Dornghal.

w Bri-Ele — This place is now called the hill
of Croghan, and is situated in the north-east of
the King's County, close to the boundary of
Westmeath. — See note ', under A. D. 1385. It
is stated in the Book of Lecan, fol. 175, p. a,
col. b, that this hill received its name from Eile,
daughter of Eochaidh Feidhleach, Monarch of
Ireland, and wife, first of Ferghal, son of Ma-
gach, and afterwards of Sraibhgenn, son of
Niul, one of the Ernaans of Munster.

* Dumha-Aichir. — This is a repetition. See
A. D. 464. In the Annals of Ulster it is entered
under the year 468, thus : "Helium Dumai- Aichir,
pop Oilill THolc, sicut invent in Libra Cuanach."
And again under the years 474 and 476.

y Crioch- Cualann — A territory included, for
the most part, in the present county of Wicklow.
The territory of Feara-Cualann, or Fercoulen,
the limits of which are denned in an Inquisition

468.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

149

The Age of Christ, 468. The eleventh year of Oilioll. The boxing-battle"
of Bri-Ele" against the Leinstermen, by Oilioll Molt.

The Age of Christ, 470. The twelfth year of Oilioll. The battle of Dumha-
Aichir* against Oilioll Molt, by the Leinstermen.

The Age of Christ, 472. The fourteenth year of Oilioll. Toca, son of
Aedh, son of Senach, chief of Crioch-Cualann", in Leinster, died.

The Age of Christ, 474. The sixteenth year of Oilioll. Eire2, son of
Eochaidh Muinreamhar, died.

The Age of Christ, 475. The seventeenth year of Oilioll. Conall Cremh-
thoinn", son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, from whom are sprung the Clann
Colmain, and race of Aedh Slaine", died.

The Age of Christ, 476. The eighteenth year of Oilioll. The battle of
Granard0 by Eochaidh, son of Cairbre, son of Oilioll, son of Dunking, son of
Enda Niadh, against the King of Leinster, Fraech, son of Finnchadh, son of
Garchu, son of Fothadh, son of Eochaidh Lamhdoidh, son of Mesincorb ; and
Fraech fell therein.

The Age of Christ, 478. After Oilioll Molt, son of Dathi, son of Fiachra,

taken at Wicklow on the 26th of April, 1636,
appears to have been coextensive with the ma-
nor of Powerscourt, in the barony of Half Rath-
down, in the north of the county of Wicklow ;
but anciently the territory of Cualann was more
extensive. It appears from the Feilire-Aenguis
that the churches of Tigh-Conaill (Stagonnell),
Tigh-mic-Dimmai, and Dunmor, and from the
Leabhar-Laighneach, preserved in the Book of
Lecan, fol. 93-109, that Senchill, now Shank-
hill, near Bray, were situated in this territory.

* Eire — He is the ancestor of the Dalriadic
kings of Scotland — See Ussher's Primord., Ind.
Chron., and O'Flaherty's Ogygia, p. 465.

a Conall Cremhthainn. — He is the ancestor of
the O'Melaghlins, who bore the tribe-name of
Clann-Colmain, and of other families formerly
powerful in Meath. From this Conall seventeen
Irish monarchs descended. The Annals of Ulster
record his death at the year 470, under which
Dr. O' Conor observes in a note that the terri-

tory of Tirconall derived its name from him;
but this is contrary to all the Irish genealogists
and historians, who are unanimous in stating
that Tir-Conaill derived its name from his bro-
ther, Conall Gulban. — Ogygia, iii. c. 85.

*• Race of Aedh Slaine — There were nine
Monarchs of'Ireland of the race of this Aedh
Slaine, who was himself Monarch of Ireland
from A. D. 599 to 605. After the establish-
ment of surnames, the chief family of his race
took the surname of O'Kelly Breagh, and were
seated in the great plain of Bregia, in the east
of ancient Meath See Ogygia, iii. c. 93, p. 430.

c Granard This is the Granard in the

county of Longford ; but the Four Masters have
evidently given Gairbre a wrong genealogy.
In the Annals of Ulster, " Helium primum Gra-
nearad" is entered under the year 485, and it is
stated that "Cairbre mac Neill Naigiallaig victor
erat." In the Clarendon copy the reading is :
" Bdlum primum circa Granearad. Cairbre mac-

150

[479-

hi pishe nGpeann oOilill TTlolc, mac Oaci, mic piachpac, DO cheap i ccach
Ocha la Lu^haib, mac Laojaipe, la TTluipcfpcach mac Gapcca -\ la Pep£up
Ceppbel, mac Comxill CpfmcainDe, -| la piacpa, mac Laojaipe, pi Dal
nQpaioe, -| la Cpfmcann, mac Gnoa Cennpelaij pi Caijfn. Op Don chup
pin DO paca t>piachpa na Lee ~\ Caiploejh iccioppocpaicc in caca. Qp
Don each pin acbfpc 6 fee mac Oe.

TTlop chach Ocha peappaicip
imopalca cacha lie
pop Oilill TTlolc, mac Nachf,
meabaiD pia nDdl Qpai&e.

Qoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo pfchcmojac anaoi. Qn ceo bliaDain Do Lujaib,
mac Caojaipe, op Gpmn i pije.

Qoip Cpiopc, cfifpe ceD ochcmojac. Qn Dapa bliaDam Do LughaiD.
Cach 5ranairD a CC1P ^aijfn eicip laijnib pfipin, Du in pomapba6pionncha&,
cijfpna Ua Cennpealaij, la Coipppe.

Qoip Cpiopc, ceicpe ceo ochcmojac ahaon. Qn cpeap bliaDam Do
Cujhaib. .8. laplaiche, mac Upfna, eppcop QpDa TTlacha, DO paomfoh a
ppiopaice.

Neill Naigiallaig victor erat; in quo cedidit Fin-
guine jilius Erce ; et victor erat, ut alii dicunt,
Crimthan mac Enna Cinselaig."

d The battle of Ocha. — Animosus, author of
the fourth Life of St. Bridget, published by
Colgan, states (lib. ii. c. 12), that lolland, son
of Dunluing, King of Leinster, slew Oilioll Molt,
King of Ireland, near Themoria or Tara. The
notice of this battle is entered under the year
482, and again under 483, in the Annals of
Ulster, as follows, in the old translation in the
Clarendon manuscript, torn. 49:

" 482. Bellum Oche, in quo cecidit Ailill Molt
manu Lugh mic Laogaire, et Murierti mic Erca.
A Concobaro filio Nessa usque ad Cormac filium
Art anni 308. A Cormac usque ad hoc bellum
206, ut Guana scripsti."

" 483. Jugulatio Crimthain, mac Enna Cen-

selaich, Regis Lagenie, mic Bressail Bealaich, mic
Cathair Moir. Et hoc anno the battle [called]
Cath Ocha, secundum alias, by Lugad and by
Murtagh mac Erca, and by Fergus Cervail, mac
Connell Crimthain, and by Fiachra Lon, the
King of Dal-Araide."

The accounts of the death of this monarch are
various and conflicting, for which see Colgan's
Trias Thaum., p. 565, col. 1, not. 8, 9. The Life
of St. Kieran states, that Oilioll Molt was slain
in the battle of Ocha, in Meath, by Crimhthann,
King of Leinster : " Ex his obiter advertendum
eos graviter errare, qui scribunt hunc Crim-
thannum occubuisse anno 465, cum multis
postea revolutis annis prsedicto prrelio inter-
fuit." — Colgan. To this it may be added that,
according to the ancient historical tract called
Borumha-Laighean, Crimhthann, son of Enna,

479-] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 151

had been twenty years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he was slain in the battle
of Ochad, by Lughaidh, son of Laeghaire, Muircheartach Mac Earca, Fearghirs
Cerrbhel, son of Conall Cremththainne, Fiachra, son of Laeghaire, King of
Dal-Araidhe, and Cremhthann, son of Enna Cennsealach, King of Leinster. It
was on this occasion that the Lee and Cairloegh6 were given to Fiachra as a
territorial reward for the battle. It was of this battle Beg Mac Def said :

The great battle of Ocha was fought,
In which many battalions were cut off,
Against Oilioll Molt, son of Nathi,
Who was defeated by the Dal-Araidhe.

The Age of Christ, 479. The first year of Lughaidh5, son of Laeghaire, in
sovereignty over Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 480. The second year of Lughaidh. The battle of
Granard", in the land of Leinster, between the Leinstermen themselves, wherein
Finnchadh, Lord of Ui-Cennsealaigh, was slain by Cairbre.

The Age of Christ, 481. The third year of Lughaidh. Saint Jarlaithe',
son of Treana, Bishop of Ard-Macha [Armagh], resigned his spirit.

slew Oilioll Molt in the battle of Ocha. tered thus :

* Lee and Cairloegh. — This is probably a mis- " A. D. 497. The battle of Graine, where

take for Lee and Ard-Eolairg. The territory of Moriertagh mac Ercka had the victory. There

Lee was on the west side of the River Bann, and was another battle of Graine, between Lynster-

included in the present barony of Coleraine, in men themselves, fought, where Finncha, King

the county of , Londonderry ; but that called of O'Keansely, was slain, and Carbrey had the

Cairloegh, or Ard-Eolairg, is unknown to the victory."
Editor. — See note under the year 557- In the Annals of Ulster " Bellwn primum

f Beg Mac De : i. e. Beccus, the son of Dea or Granearad" is entered first under the year 485,

Dagseus, a celebrated Irish prophet, who died and again under 486, " Vel hie, primum bellum

in the year 557, q. v. Graine ;" and under A. D. 492, " Bellum secun-

8 The first year of Lughaidh. — " A. D. 484. dum Granairet." The place is now called Grane,

Inicium regni Lugaid mic Laegaire, hoc anno." and is situated in the north of Kildare.
— Annals of Ulster. ' Jarlaithe. — He was the third bishop of Ar-

b The battle of Granard. — Granard is here a magh, and died, according to the Annals of

mistake of transcribers for Graine, as appears Ulster, in 481. — See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum,

from the ancient historical tract called Borumha- p. 307. He is to be distinguished from St. Jar-

Laighean, and from the Annals of Clonmacnoise, lath of Tuam — See Harris's edition of Ware's

in which the two battles fought there are en- Bishops, pp. 35, 36.

152 aNNdta Rio§nacnca eiReaNN. [487.

Goip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo ochcmojar apeacc. Gn naomab bliabam Do
Oughaib. Nel, Gappoc Gpoachaib i cceacba, oeipcipul pacpaicc, oecc.

Goip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo ochcmojac a hochc. Qn oeachmab bliabam
DO Lujhaib. Cianctn, eppoc Doirhliacc, oecc.

Goip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo ochcmojac anaoi. Gn caonrhab bliabam 065
oo tughaib. TTlaccaille eppoc oecc. Gongup, mac Nacppaoich, pi TTluman,
DO cuicim hi ccach Chellopnab la TTluipcfpcach TTlac Gapca, la hlollann
macOunlaing, lahGilill, macOunlaing,-] lahGochaib n^uinfch Dia nebpaoh,

Gcbach cpaob, oopbile noip,

Gongup molbchach, mac Nacppaoich,
paccbab la hi llano a pach
hi ccac Cell Opnaoha claom.

k Md, Bishop of Ard-achadh — He was the
first bishop of Ardagh, in the county of Long-
ford, and a disciple of St. Patrick.

1 Cianan, Bishop of Doimhliag : i. e. of Duleek,
in Meath. It is stated in the Annals of Tigher-
nach, and in those of Ulster, that St. Patrick
presented him with a copy of the Gospels :
" A. D. 488. — Quies Sancti Cianani, cui Sanctus
Patricius Evangelium largitus eat." The name
doimhliag or daimliag signifies a stone building;
and the first stone church ever erected in Ire-
land is believed to have given name to this
place ; and it looks very curious that, although
Daimhliag was a common name for a stone
church, still it has not entered into the topo-
graphical names like Cill or teamputt, this of
Duleek, in Meath, being the only instance now
to be found. — See Petrie's Inquiry into the Origin
and Uses of the Round Towers of Ireland, pp. 138
to 141.

m Bishop Maccaille. — He is said to have been
one of the nephews of St. Patrick, by his sister
Darerca. Tirechan states that St. Bridget of
Kildare received the veil from his hands at
Uisneach, in Meath ; and the Calendar of
Cashel, as quoted by Colgan (Trias Thaum.,

p. 525), that his festival was kept on the 25th
of April, at " Cruach-an-Bri-Eile, in Ifalgia."
This place is still well known, and the ruins of
the church of St. Maccaille are to be seen on the
eastern side of the conspicuous hill of Croghan,
near Tyrrell's Pass, on the confines of the King's
County and the county of Westmeath.

n Battle of Cill- Osnadha. — The notice of this
battle is entered in the Annals of Ulster thus :
" A. D. 489. Bettwn Cinn Losnado, ubi cecidit
Aengus, filius Natfraich, righ Mumhan, lit
Guana scripsit." The place called Cell-Osnada,
or Ceann-losnada, is described by Keating (in
regimine Oiliolli Molt) as situated in the plain
of Magh-Fea, four miles east of Leighlin, in the
county of Carlow. This place is now called
Kelliston, and is situated in the barony of
Forth, in the county of Carlow ; and there ex-
ists among the old natives of the place a most
curious and remarkably vivid tradition of this
battle, which explains the Irish name of the
place as denoting " church of the groans ;" and
which it received, according to this tradition,
from the lamentations of the Munster-women
after the loss of their husbands and brothers in
the battle. This, however, though a very na-

487.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

153

The Age of Christ, 487. The ninth year of Lughaidh. Mel, Bishop of
Ard-achadhk, in Teathbha, disciple of Patrick, died.

The Age of Christ, 488. The tenth year of Lughaidh. Cianan, Bishop
of Doimhliag1, died.

The Age of Christ, 489. The eleventh year of Lughaidh. Bishop Mac-
caillem, died. Aenghus, son of Nadfraech, King of Munster, fell in the battle
of Cell-0snadhan [fought against him] by Muircheartach Mac Earca, by Illann,
son of Dunking, by Ailill, son of Dunlaing, and by Eochaidh Guineach, of
which was said :

Died the branch, the spreading tree0 of gold,
Aenghus the laudable, son of Nadfraech,
His prosperity was cut off by Illann,
In the battle of Cell-Osnadha the foul.

tural turn for tradition to have given it, is not
the true form of the name, for it appears, from
an ancient historical tale preserved in Leabhar
na-h Uidhri, that it was first written Ceann-Los-
nada, which is also the form of the name given
in the Annals of Ulster. This was once a place
of considerable importance, and contained, till
about fifty years ago, considerable remains of
an ancient church and Cloigtheach, or round
tower, but which are now all effaced. — See the
Anthologia Hibernica, voL iv. p. 105.

St. Kieran, the patron of the men of Ossory,
is said to have predicted to Eithne, the queen
of Aenghus Mac Nadfraich, that she and her
lord would fall in this battle in consequence of
a crime of a disgraceful nature which she at-
tempted to commit. The prophecy of St. Kieran
was delivered in general terms, thus : " Tu enim,
filia, et Dominus noster Rex, uno die, occidemini
ab inimicis vestris : sed det Dominus vobis mi-
sericordiam." But the writer of the Saint's
Life (apud Colgan, Ada Sanctorum, p. 460) goes
to shew that it was fulfilled in the battle of
Ceall-Osnaidh, as follows :

" Quod vaticinatus est sanctus Pontifex Kie-

ranus, ita contigit : Ipse enim Rex Aenghus in
bello quod commissum est in campo Fea, in
provincia Lageniensium juxta grandem villam
Ceall-Osnaidh, cum sua uxore Regina, occisus
est a Rege Aquilonalium Lageniensium, Illando
filio Dunlaingh, 8 Idus Octobris. Et hsec cedes
maxima abusio erat : et ipsa Regina Eithnea
Huathach vocabatur, quse erat filia Crymthani
filii Endcei Kimealaigh; qui Crymthan multum
subjugavit Aquilonales Lagenienses, accepto
Rege magno Hibernias, postquam ille in gravi
bello Ocha, in regione Media, occidit Alildum
Molt, Regem Hibernise."

0 Spreading tree — This Aenghus, who was the
first Christian King of Munster, is the common
ancestor of the families of Mac Garthy, O'Keefe,
O'Callaghan, and O'Sullivan, now so widely
spread in Ireland, England, and America, and
even on the Continent of Europe, where some
of them bear coronets. If the saplings of this
" spreading tree of gold," Aenghus Mac Nad-
fraich, could now be reckoned in the different
countries in which they have pullulated, it would
appear that they are vastly numerous, and that,
as the multiplication of a race is a blessing, King

154

[492.

Cach Taillcfn pop Laigmb pia cCoipppe, mac Nell.

Goip Cpiopc, cficpe ceD nochor aoo. Qn cfchpamaD bliabam Decc DO
Lugaib. Cach Slfmna, hi TTIi&e, pia cCoipbpe, mac Nell, pop Lai jmb.

Qoip Cpiopc, ceirpe ceo nochac acpi. Ctn cuicceab bba&ain Decc Do
LughaiD. panpaicc, mac Calpuipn, mic POCOIDC, aipoeappuc, ceicc ppiorh-
aiD i apoappcol Gpeann, Do cuip an ceo Celepcinup papa Do ppoicfpc
poipcela, -) DO pfolab ippi ~\ cpabaib Do ^haoiDealaib, — ape po fcappccap

Aenghus has reaped the full benefit of that "alma
benedictio" imparted by St. Patrick when he
baptized him at Cashel, and, by a singular mis-
take, put his faith to the trial by piercing his
foot with the top of his crozier.

p Tailtin. — Now Teltown, on the River Sele
or Abha-dhubh, nearly midway between the
towns of Kells and Navan, in Meath. In the
Annals of Ulster the battle of Tailtin, fought
against the Leinstermen by Cairbre, son of
Niall, is entered under the year 493. This
Cairbre, the son of King Niall, was an obstinate
Pagan, and an inveterate enemy to St. Patrick,
as we learn from the Tripartite Life, part ii.
c. 4:

"Prima autem feria venit Patricius ad Tal-
teniam : vbi regiffi nundinse et public! regni ludi
et certamina quotannis servari solebant. Ibi-
que convenit Carbreum Nielli filium, et Lao-
garii Regis fratrem, fratrique animi ferocia et
incredulitate similem. Huic cum Sanctus Pa-
tricius verbum vita? praedicaret, viamque salutis
ostenderet, vir adamantini cordis, non solum
recusavit pradicatse veritati, sed viam vitse pro-
ponent! machinabatur mortem : et in vicino flu-
vio nomine Sele sancti viri socios flagellis ex-
cepit, quia Patricius eum appellavit inimicum
Dei. Tune vir Dei videns hominem esse inve-
terataa malitias, et a Deo reprobatum, ait ad
ipsum, Quia Regis coelestis doctrina? restitisti,
ejusque suave jugum portare recusasti, de tua
stirpe nee regni exurgent pignora ; sed semen
tuum semini fratrum tuorum serviet in perpe-

tuum : nee vicinus fluvius, in quo socios meos
csecidisti, licet nunc abundet piscibus, vllos un-
quam proferet pisces'." — Trias Thaum., p. 1 29-

The descendants of this Cairbre settled in
various parts of Ireland, but the most distin-
guished of his race were seated in Cairbre-
Gabhra, a territory now comprised in the ba-
rony of Granard, in the county of Longford,
where, according to the Tripartite Life, part ii.
c. 30, the sons of this wicked Cairbre received
Patrick with honour, and granted him a beau-
tiful place, called Granard, for erecting a church.
But, according to local tradition, when St. Pa-
trick arrived in the mountainous portion of this
territory, a certain wicked woman presented
him with a hound, served tip in a dish, for his
dinner ; which when he examined, he suspected
that he had been maliciously presented with an
unclean animal, and, kneeling on a certain stone,
prayed that God might restore the animal to life ;
and, to the astonishment of the assembled multi-
tude, a greyhound sprang into life. Patrick or-
dered it to be killed on the spot, and then pro-
nounced a solemn malediction on the mountainous
region, in which this insult was offered to religion,
and on the race of Cairbre, its chief. It is still be-
lieved by the neighbours that this curse remains
over these mountains, which causes them to
remain more barren than other Irish mountains,
and over the people, which keeps them in a more
rude and intractable state than those of any other
territory in Ireland.

Notwithstanding this awful curse of the Irish

492.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

155

The battle of Tailtinp against the Leinstermen, by Cairbre, son of Niall.

The Age of Christ, 492. The fourteenth year of Lughaidh. The battle
of Sleainhain, in Heath*1 [was fought] by Cairbre, son of Niall, against the
Leinstermen.

The Age of Christ, 493. The fifteenth year of Lughaidh. Patrick, son
of Calphurn, son of Potaide, archbishop, first primate, and chief apostle of
Ireland, whom Pope Celestine the First had sent to preach the Gospel and
disseminate religion and piety among the Irish, [was the person] who sepa-
rated them from the worship of idols and spectres', who conquered and de-

Apostle upon Cairbre, he had a grandson,
Tuathal Maelgarbh, who became monarch of
Ireland in 533, and reigned till 544 ; and his
descendants, who, after the establishment of
surnames, took that of O'Ronain, remained
chiefs of Cairbre- Gabhra till the English In-
vasion— See the Miscellany of the Irish Ar-
chaeological Society, p. 144, note c.

i Sleamhain, in Meath — This is not Slane [a
village on the River Boyne], as assumed by Dr.
O'Conor (Annals of Ulster, p. 9) ; for Slane, on
the Boyne, is called, in Irish, baile Slaine ; but
is situated in Westmeath, as appears from the
Annals of Clonmacnoise at the year 417. The
word rleariiam bears two meanings, at present,
in Meath and Ulster, namely, " slimy or slip-
pery," and "land bearing elms"; for the elm
tree, which, in the south half of Ireland, is called
leaman, is called r-leariian in the North.

' Idols and spectres. — St. Patrick destroyed
Crom-Cruach, the chief idol of all Ireland, after
a great struggle with the Demon ; for some
account of which see note ", p. 43, supra ;
but we are not told that he had any particular
struggle in destroying any other. It would
appear, from a quotation given by O'Flaherty,
(Ogygia, iii. c. 22.) from the Scholia of Cathal-
dus Maguire on the Feilire-Aenguis, that there
was an idol preserved at Clogher called Kermand
Kelstach, but the Editor never saw the original
passage. The Lia Fail was also at Tara in Pa-

trick's time, but we are not told that he made
any effort to destroy it. Keating says that the
Lia Fail had been struck silent in the reign of
Conchobhar, King of Ulster, when Christ was
born, and when all the false idols in the world
were struck dumb. The only other notice of
idols to be found in Patrick's Lives is given by
Evinus, who states that when he approached the
royal city of Cashel all the idols fell prostrate.
" Dum vir apostolicus Regise appropinquaret,
omnia urbis idola in faciem prostrata simul in
terram corruere." — Vit. Tripart., part iii. c. 29.
According to a tradition in the county of Wa-
terford, a certain rock near Kilmacthomas, called
Clock- Lobhrais, was wont to give responses in
Pagan times, and to decide causes with more
than human powers of discrimination, and with
the strictest adherence to truth and justice; but
this good stone, which appears to have been a
remnant of the golden age, was finally so horri-
fied at the ingenuity of a wicked woman in de-
fending her character, that it trembled with
horror, and split in twain ! From this and other
legends about certain speaking stones in some
parts of Ireland, it would appear that the Pagan
Druids had recourse to a similar delusion to
that practised at Delphi, the famous oracle of
which is also said to have been struck dumb at
the birth of Christ.

The arrachta or spectres worshipped by the
Pagan Irish are now little known. In Tire-

2

156

[493.

miOpiDe ppi ha&paD lo&al i appacc, po copccaip -\ po coimbpip na JiioDla
barap aga naDpaD aca. T?o inDapb Deamna -| Dpoc ppipaDa uaiDiB, •] cucc
mD 6 Dopca peacaib -] Doailche co poilpi cpeiDim -\ caomshnfom, po rpeo-
paij -| po peoaij a nanmanna o Doippibh ippinn (gup a mbacap 05 oul) 50
Doippib placet nime. dpe ona po b'aipe ~\ po bfnDaijj pip, mna, maca, -\
injfna Gpeann, co na ccipib' 1 co na repeabaib, ecip uipcce -| inbfp muipm.
Ctp leip DO ponaD cealla, mamipcpeca, q ecclapa lomDa pfcnon Gpeann.
Seacc cceD ceall a lion. Qp leip ceccup po hoipDneab eppcoip, pacaipr, -|
aop jach spdib ap cfna, pfcc gceO epppoc -| cpf rhfle pagapr a lion. Oo
pome pfpra -| mipbaile loniDa, co na cumaing aiccnfb oaonna a cuirhniughaD
na a popaichmfc an Do pfghene Do ihaic ip na calmannaib. O po corhpoicc-
pij aimpip eicpechca naorii pacpaicc hi Saball, po chochaic copp Chpfopc
alarfiaiban naoirh eppcoip Uappach, ipm 122 a aoipi, -) po pai6 a ppipac Do

cum nime.

T?o bai comuoccbail cara i a6bap eapaonca ipin cuicceab 05 impfpam
im copp pacpavc lap na eccuibh. Uf Neill -| Qipjialla ace cpiall a cabaipr

chan's Annotations the Sidhe or Dei terreni are
referred to, which were clearly our present
fairies ; but we have no materials left us to de-
termine what the Pagan Irish exactly believed
about them. From stories written in Christian
times, it would appear that the Sidhe were be-
lieved to be the spirits of the Tuatha-De-Dananns,
who haunted the different forts and hills where
they had held their residences while living.

'Expelled demons, fyc. — For an account of
St. Patrick's expulsion of the demons from
Cruachan-Aichle, or Croaghpatrick, see the Tri-
partite Life of St. Patrick, apud Colgan, part ii.
cc. 62, 63, 64, 65, 66; Trias Thaum., p. 138.
Some of the evil spirits expelled by St. Patrick
on this occasion flew across the bay of Donegal,
and settled in the Pagan region of Senghleann,
in Tirconnell, where they remained secure from
all the attacks of Christians till St. Columbkille
finally dislodged them.

' Baptized and blessed. — See Leabhar na-gCeart,
p. 235.

" Seven hundred churches — The same number
is given in a quotation from St. Eleramis, in the
Leabhar- Breac, fol. 99, b, 1, and the same num-
ber is attributed to him by Jocelyn and the
Tripartite Life, apud Colgan ; Trias Thaum.,
p. 167- See also Ussher's Primordia, p. 913.

w Seven hundred bishops and three thousand
priests. — " Episcopos enim trecentos et septua-
ginta; sacerdotum quinque millia, etclericorum
inferioris ordinis numerum sine numero, propria
manu ordinasse legitur. Numerum autem Mo-
nachorum atque Monialium, quos divino conse-
cravit obsequio, solus Deus novit. Sacras etiam
sedes, sedes Episcopates, Monasteria, Ecclesias,
sacella, promiscue connumerantur, fundavit
septingenta." — Vit. Tripartit. S. Patricii, part. ii.
c. 97; Trias Thaum., p. 167.

* The human mind. — Dr. O'Conor renders this :
" Fecit miracula et mirabilia plurima, simulque
informavit intellectum populorum ad commu-
nionem, vel ad memoriam ejus. Fecit regulas
valde bonas." But he is totally beneath criti-

493.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

157

stroyed the idols which they had for worshipping ; who had expelled demons'
and evil spirits from among them, and brought them from the darkness of sin
and vice to the light of faith and good works, and who guided and conducted
their souls from the gates of hell (to which they were going), to the gates of
the kingdom of heaven. It was he that baptized and blessed' the men, women,
sons and daughters of Ireland, with their territories and tribes, both [fresh]
waters and sea-inlets. It was by him that many cells, monasteries, and churches
were erected throughout Ireland ; seven hundred churches" was their number.
It was by him that bishops, priests, and persons of every dignity were ordained ;
seven hundred bishops, and three thousand priests" [was] their number. He
worked so many miracles and wonders, that the human mindx is incapable of
remembering or recording the amount of good which he did upon earth. When
the time of St. Patrick's death approached, he received the Body of Christ from
the hands of the holy Bishop Tassachy, in the 122nd [year] of his agez, and
resigned his spirit to heaven.

There was a rising of battle", and a cause of dissension in the province
contending for the body of Patrick after his death. The Ui-Neillb and the

cism in blunders of this description.

The absurdity of the miracles attributed to
St. Patrick by all his biographers, on every
frivolous occasion, without number, measure,
or use, have created a doubt, in modern times,
of the truth of everything they relate ; and
if it happened that God suspended the laws of
nature at the request of this great preacher, his
biographers have described them, and the motives
of them, so injudiciously, that modern readers
can only laugh at them, unless they will be at
great trouble to separate the fictitious and
useless from the real and necessary wonders
wrought by this apostle.

' Tassach. — He is the patron saint of Rath-
Cholptha, now the village of Raholp, near Saul,
in the barony of Lecale, and county of Down —
See note g, at A. D. 448, supra ; Trias Thaum.,
p. 6, col. I.

'In the 122nd [year] of his age See Ussher's

Primordia, pp. 88-1, 883, 88?. In the Tripar-

tite Life, apud Colgan, Trias Thaum., p. 168,
he is also given this age of 1 22 years :

" Curavit advocari S. Tassachum Episcopum ;
et e manu ejus salutare sumpsit viaticum, an-
noque sui inter Hibernos Apostolatus Ixii.
setatis cxxii. xvi. Kalendas Aprilis purissimum
coelo reddidit spiritum."

According to a summary of dates and facts
relating to St. Patrick, preserved in the Leabhar
Breac (fol. 99, b, 1), he died "in the one hun-
dred and twentieth year of his age, that is, the
27th" [recte 26th] "of the solar Cycle, the
Calends of January being on Friday, the first
year after the bisextile, on the 16th of the
Calends of April, which, in that year, fell on
Wednesday, the 13th of the Moon."

* A rising of battle. — This story is also given
in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, apud
Colgan, Trias Thaum., pp.168, 169.

b The Ui-Neill: i. e. the descendants of Niall
of the Nine Hostages.

158

[494.

50 hapomacha, Ulai6 acca popcaD aca paofm, 50 nofcaccap Ui Neill-|
aip^ialla 50 alaile uipcce.jo ccuapjaib an abann ppiu, co na po cuihainspec
cecc caippi la meo a ruite. O Do comh an cuile pop ccula Do Deacacap
na ploij po combaij .1. Ui Neill ~\ UlaiD oo b'pfic chuipp parpaicc leo.
Qpfb cappap la 5506 nopuing Dfob co mbai an copp leo bu&ein Docum a
ccipe, 50 po foappccap Oia mD gan cpoio gan cachap pon lonnup pin. Po
habnachc lapam copp pacpaic 50 nonoip •] 50 naipmiccin moip, i nOun Da
leacglap, -\ na Di omce Decc po bacap na ppuire 05 paipe an cuipp, co
ppalmaib -| hpmnaib, m bai oibce i TTiuijinip, ina ip na pfpannaib compoiccpib
(an oapleo) ace arhail bm poilpi an laoi lanpolaip po lonopchaib ann Do
jpep. dp DO b'liaDnaib baip naorh pacpaicc arpubpab.

O gfnap Cpiopc, dipfrh aic,
.cccc. pop caom nocaic,
ceopa bliaona paip mppom,
50 bap pacpaicc ppiorhappcoil.

Qoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceD nochac a cfcaip. Q pe Decc Do Cushaib. Cach
CinDailbe pia cCoipbpe, mac Nell, pop Laijnib.

C[oip Cpiopc, cficpe* ceD nochac ape. TTlochaoi, abb ndonopoma, Decc

c The Oirghialla: i. e. the descendants of the
Collas, who, at this time, possessed a vast terri-
tory in Ulster, lying west of the River Bann
and Gleann-Righe.

d UUa. — Called by Colgan, in his translation
of the Tripartite Life, Ulidii. At this time
they possessed only that portion of the province
of Ulster lying east of the River Bann and
Gleann-Righe.

e Dun-da-leathghlas: i. e. the dun or fort of
the two broken locks or fetters, now Down-
patrick.

f It was not night. — This is also stated by the
author of the Tripartite Life :

" Et ita non visa est nox in tota ilia regione
in tempore luctus Patricii."

It is stated in Fiech's Hymn that the light
continued for a whole year after Patrick's death,

on which Colgan has the following note :

" Quod in morte Patricii dierum duodecim
naturalium spatium transierit sine noctis in-
terpolatione tradunt Jocelinus c. 193, Author
operis Tripartiti, p. 3, c. 1 06, Probus, L 2, c. 34,
et alii communiter actorum Patricii Scriptores,
et quod toto sequenti anno tempus nocturnum
in ilia qua obiit Regione fuerit extraordinario
quodam et coelitus misso respersum lumine, alia
indicant testimonia et argumenta. Ita enim
indicat Probus loco citato, dicens : ' Plebs etiam
ittius loci in quo sepultus est certissima confirmat
attestatione, quod usque ad jinemtotius anni, in quo
obierat, nunquam nocturnales tenebrce quales exti-
tissent, tales anted fuerant, quod nimirum ad tanti
viri meritum non dubium est. Item Author operis
Tripart. p. 3, c. 106 : Et ferunt alii quod anno
integro post Patricii mortem fuerit continua lux in

494.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

159

Oirghiallac attempting to bring it to Armagh ; the Ulta" to keep it with them-
selves. And the Ui-Neill and the Oirghialla came to a certain water, and the
river swelled against them so that they were not able to cross it in consequence
of the greatness of the flood. When the flood had subsided these hosts united
on terms of peace, i. e. the Ui-Neill and the Ulta, to bring the body of Patrick
with them. It appeared to each of them that each had the body conveying it
to their respective territories, so that God separated them in this manner, with-
out a fight or battle. The body of Patrick was afterwards interred at Dun-da-
lethglas6 with great honour and veneration ; and during the twelve nights that
the reh'gious seniors were watching the body with psalms and hymns, it was
not night5 in Magh-inis or the neighbouring lands, as they thought, but as if it
were the full undarkened light of day. Of the year of Patrick's death was
said :

Since Christ was born, a correct enumeration,

Four hundred and fair ninety,

Three years add to these,

Till the death of Patrick, chief Apostle.

The Age of Christ, 494. The sixteenth year of Lughaidh. The battle of
Ceann-Ailbhe* by Cairbre, son of Niall, against the Leinstermen.

The Age of Christ, 496. Mochaoi", Abbot of Aendruim, died on thetwenty-

Regione de Mag-inis.' Adde quod nomen illius
Regionis exinde postea ortum, hoc ipsum indi-
cet. Vulgo enim vocatur Triuchached na soillse,
i. cantaredus seu centivillaria Regio luminis, ut
vulgi usurpatio, et patrise historia contestantur.
Unde propter hos coelestes radios tempus illud
nocturnum raro prodigio illustrantes, videtur
S. Fiecus hie tempus illud vocasse continuam
lucem et diem prolongatam." — Trias Thaum.,
p. 6, col. 2, not. 20.

8 Ceann-Ailbhe — In the Annals of Clonmac-
noise the " battle of Kinailbe" is entered under '
the year 501. In the Ulster Annals it is called
the battle of Cnoc-Ailbhe. It was probably the
name of a hill in Magh- Ailbhe, in the south of
the county of Kildare.

b Mochaoi, Abbot of Aendruim — He was a
disciple of St. Patrick, and abbot of the island of
Aendruim, now Mahee Island, in Loch Cuan, or
Strangford Lough, in the county of Down. The
situation of Aendruim appears from a gloss on
iheFeilire-Aenguis, at 23rd June: " Oenopuim .1.
oen culuch an imr- uile, -\ pop (Loch Cuan acu."
" Oendruim, i. e. all the island is [i. e. forms]
one hill, and in Loch Cuan it is [situated]." —
See Description of Nendrum, by the Rev. Wil-
liam Reeves, pp. 30 to 34. The death of this
saint is entered in the Annals of Tighernach at
the year 497 ; in the Annals of Ulster at 493,
and again from a different authority at 498 ; and

in the old Annals of Innisfallen at 490 See note

on Mochaoi under the year 432.

160

emeaHN.

[497-

an cpeap la pichear Do mi lun. Cach Opoma Lochrnaishe pia Laijmbh

pop Uib Nell.

Copbmac a Cpic in epname eppcop Cfpoa TTlaca, corimpba Pacpaicc, DO

paoiohfoh a ppiopaicce.

Qoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceD nochac a peachc. Q naoi oecc De Lujhaib.
Cach Inoe TTloipe hi cCptch ua n§abla pop taignib, -\ pop lollann, mac
Ounlains, la TTluipcfpcach mac Gapca.

doip Cpiopc, cficpe ceD nochac a hochc. Ctn pichfcmaD bliaDain DO
Lujaib. pfpjup TTlop, mac Gipc, nnc Gachach muinpeamaip, co na bpaicpib
DO 6ul mo Glbain.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cficpe ceo nochac a naoi. Q haon pichfc Do LughaiD.
Ceapban eappoc, 6 piopc Cfpbain oc Ueampaij, Decc.

Cac Seajpa pia TTluipcfpcach mac Gpca pop Diiach Tfnsuma, pi Con-
nacc. Ipeab pochann an cacha .1. TTTuipcfpcach po bai hi pachaijiup ecip
in pi agup GochaiD Uiopmcapna, a bpachaip, 50 po gabaD GochaiD pop
comaipce TTluipcfpcoij. CeannpaolaD apbepc oa oeapbao.

' Druim-Lochmaighe. — See A. M. 3549, where
it is stated that Lochmhagh is in the territory
of Conaille, i. e. in the level portion of the county
of Louth.

k Cormac of Crioch-an-Earnaidhe : i. e. the
Territory of the Oratory or little Church, thus
translated by Colgan in Trias Thaum., p. 293 :
" S. Corbmacus de Crich-indernaidhe, successor
S. Patricii, Ep. Ardmach, quievit in domino."
He gives his acts at 17th of February, from
which it would appear that he was the nephew
of the monarch Laeghaire, by his brother Enda;
that his body or reliques were preserved at Trim,
in Meath, and that his festival was celebrated at
Armagh, on the 17th of February. In the copy
of the Feilire-Aenguis preserved in the Ledbhar
Ereac, he is set down as"Copmuc comopba
Pacpaic i nOch cpuim £oe jaipe," and the Edi-
tor is of opinion that Cpioch an eapnaioe may
be a corruption of Cpioc Coejaipe.

1 Inde-mor, in Chrioch- Ua-nGabhla — Crioch-
Ua-nGabhla, called, in the old translation of the

Annals of Ulster, " O'Gawla's country," was
the name of a territory situated in the south
of the present county of Kildare, extending,
according to the Book of Lecan, fol. 93-109,
from Ath-Cuilchinge to Dubh-ath, near the
hill of Mullaghmast ; and from Ath-glas-crichi,
at Cluanies, to Uada, in Leix ; and from the
ford of Ath-leathnacht to Gleann-Uissen, in
Ui-Bairrche. In the Annals of Clonmacnoise
" the battle of Inne" is entered under the year
504.

m Fearghus Mor. — The Annals of the Four
Masters are here antedated by at least five
years, as Dr. O'Conor shews (Proleg. ad Ann.,
p. Ixxxvi). The Annals of Tighernach place
the migration of the sons of Ere to Alba (Scot-
land) during the pontificate of Symmachus, the
Calends of January being onferia prima. Now
Symmachus succeeded Anastasius the Second on
the 10th of the Calends of December, A. D. 498,
and died on the 14th of the Calends of August,
A. D. 514, and during this whole period the

497.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

161

third day of the month of June. The battle of Druim-Lochmaighe' [was gained]
by the Leinstermen over the Ui-Neill.

Cormac, of Chrioch-in-Ernaidhelc, successor of Patrick, resigned his spirit.

The Age of Christ, 497. The nineteenth year of Lughaidh. The battle
of Inde-Mor, in Crioch-Ua-nGabhla1, [was gained] over the Leinstermen and
Illann, son of Dunlaing, by Muircheartach mac Earca.

The Age of Christ, 498 [recti 503]. The twentieth year of Lughaidh.
Fearghus Mor™, son of Ere, son of Eochaidh Muinreamhair, with his brothers,
went to Alba [Scotland].

The Age of Christ, 499 \recte 504]. The twenty-first year of Lughaidh.
Cerban, a bishop of Feart-Cearbain11, at Teamhair, died.

The battle of Seaghais0 [was fought] by Muircheartach mac Earca against
Duach Teangumhap, King of Connaught. The cause of the battle was this,
viz. : Muircheartach was a guarantee between the King and Eochaidh Tirm-
charna, his brother, and Eochaidh was taken prisoner against the protection of
Muircheartach. In proof of which Ceannfaeladhq said :

Calends of January did not fall on feria prima,
except twice, viz. A. D. 506, and 516 ; and, as
Flann refers this emigration of the sons of Ere
to the fifteenth year after the battle of Ocha, it
follows from this singular coincidence, which
could not happen otherwise than from historical
verity, that this migration is to be referred to
the year 506 of the common era. The Annals
of Clonmacnoise refer this migration to the year
501, which is much nearer to the true date than
that given by the Four Masters.

n Feart-Cearbain : i. e. the Grave of Bishop
Cerban, who was one of St. Patrick's converts.
His death is entered in the Annals of Ulster at
the year 503, and in the Annals of Tighernach
at 503, and again at 504, which is the true
year, and that under which it is entered in
the Annals of Clonmacnoise. Feart-Chearbain
was the name of a church situated to the north-
east of Tara hill, but it is now totally eflaced.
— See Petrie's History and Antiquities of Tara

Hill, p. 200, and plate 7 (facing p. 128), on
which the position of this church is marked.

0 Seaghais. — This was the ancient name of the
Curlieu hills, near Boyle, on the confines of the
counties of Roscommon and Sligo. This battle
is entered in the Annals of Ulster at the year
501.

k p Duach Teangumha: i. e. Duach of the Brazen
Tongue. He was otherwise called Duach Galach,
i. e. the Valorous. He was the son of Brian,
son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin, Monarch of
Ireland, and is the ancestor of the O' Conors of
Connaught, as well as of the O'Rourkes and
O'Reillys, and various other correlative fami-
lies.

q Ceannfaeladh : i. e. Ceannfaeladh-na-fogh-
lama, or the Learned, of Derryloran, in Tyrone,
who died, according to the Annals of Tigher-
nach, in the year 679- He wrote a work on the
synchronism of the Irish monarchs with the
Roman Emperors.

162

[500.

Cach Seghpa bfn DO mnaib poDpuaip, po boi cpu ofpj cap cpuipijh,
la Ouipich, ingin Ouaich.

each Oealcca, each TTlucpama acup each Cuomo Opuba,
la each Sfjpa, hi ccopcaip Ouach Ufnjumha.

Pop Connaccaib po ppaoineab na caca hipin.

Cfoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceo. Gn DapabliaDam pichfc Do LushaiD. .8. Ibap
eppuc, oecc an cpep la pichfc DO mi Qppil. Ceicpe blia&na ap cpi ceo poo
a paojail.

Cach Lochmaighe pia Laijnib pop Uibh Nell.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceo a haon. Q cpi pichfc DO Lujhaib. Cach Pperh-
ainne hi TTli&e pop piachaiD, mac Nell, pia ppailge beppaibe, Dia nebpab
an pann,

In pi aile apmbfpaiD piacha, mac Nell, ni celaiD,

Gp paip, cap cpfmla cile, cac ppeamna TTIibe meabaiD.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceD a cpi. lap mbfich cuig bliabna pichfc i pighe
6peann DO CujhaiO, mac Laojaipe, copchaip i nCtchaD popcha, mp na bem

' A certain woman : i. e. I^Juiseach. She was
the wife of Muircheartach mac Earca, whom she
incited to fight this battle against her father,
Duach Teangumha, because he had made a pri-
soner of her foster-father, Eochaidh Tirmcharna,
in violation of her husband's guarantee. — See
Book of Lecan, fol. 195, b.

• Against the Connaughtmen: i. e. these battles
were gained by the race of Niall over the Con-
naughtmen. The Editor has never seen a full
copy of the poem of Cennfaeladh, from which
the above verses are quoted. They are also
quoted in O'Conor's printed Annals of Tigher-
nach, in which the battle of Seaghais is twice
mentioned as in the text of the Four Masters.

1 St. Ibhar — The death of Bishop Iver, in the
303rd year of his age, is recorded in the Annals
of Clonmacnoise, at the year 504. It is entered
in the Annals of Ulster at the years 499, 500,
and 503. This Ibhar is the patron saint of the

island of Beg-Erin or Parva Hibernia, near
Wexford, where there are still to be seen some
ruins of his church — See Ussher's Primordia,
pp. 794, 901, 1062; Colgan's Acta Sanctorum,
pp.50, 450, 610; and Archdall's Monasticon,
p. 733. In the Feilire-Aenguis, at 23rd April,
Bishop Ibhar is noticed :

" £oichec eppcop Ibaip, apopc ceno cec epip,
Qn Bpeo uap cuino i cpilip, i n€rpmo bic
beBuip."

" A lamp was Bishop Ibhar, who attained to the

head of every piety ;

The flame over the wave in brightness, in Erin
Beg he died."

Dr. O'Conor says that the great age ascribed
to this and other saints is owing to the error of
transcribers, in mistaking cpi .1. thrice fifty, for
cpi .c. three hundred.

"Lochmagh — See A.M. 3549-3656; A.D. 496.

500.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

163

The battle of Seaghais; a certain womanr caused it; red blood was over lances,

By Duiseach, daughter of Duach.

The battle of Dealga, the battle of Mucramha, and the battle of Tuaim-

Drubha,
With the battle of Seaghais, wherein fell Duach Teangumha.

Against the Connaughtmen* these battles were gained.

The Age of Christ, 500. The twenty-second year of Lughaidh. Saint
Ibhar', the bishop, died on the twenty-third day of the month of April. Three
hundred and four years was the length of his life.

The battle of Lochmagh" by the Leinstermen, against the Ui-Neill.

The Age of Christ, 501. The twenty-third year of Lughaidh. The battle
of FreamhainT, in Meath, against Fiacha, son of Niall, by Failge Berraidhe, con-
cerning which this quatrain was composed :

The other king whom I shall mention was Fiacha, son of Niall, I shall not

conceal him ;
It was against him, contrary to a false prophecy, the battle of Freamhain, in

Meath, was gained.

The Age of Christ, 503. After Lughaidh, son of Laeghaire, had been
twenty-five years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he was killed at Achadh-farcha",

T Freamhainn See A. M. 5084, p. 89, note w,

supra.

"Achadh-farcha: i. e. the Field of the Light-
ning. Colgan says that the place retained this
name in his own time, but does not define its
exact situation. The words of the author of
the Tripartite Life, in describing this event, are
as follows:

" Venit" [Lugadius] "ad locum quendam
Achadh-farcha appellatum ; ubi conspiciens
quandam Ecclesiam in colle positam, ait ; nun-
quid ilia est Ecclesia istius clerici, qui iniquo
prophetise spiritu, praedixit nullum de Leogarii
patris mei semine Regem vel principem prodi-
turum ? Et statim ac haec protulit, fulminis e
coelo missi, et in verticem ejus cadentis, ictu

extinctus illico interiit. Unde et locus nomen
abinde sortitus, Achadh-farcha, .i. collis ful-
minis appellatur." — Part ii. c. 77. Colgan adds
in a note, Trias Thaum., p. 172, n. 44 :

" Et loci illius Achadh-f&icha, id est collis
fulminis, appellati, nomen quod usque in hunc
diem retinet conformat. Est autem in finibus
Dioecesis et Comitatus Orientalis Mediae."

It is stated in the Life of St. Patrick pre-
served in the Leabhar Breac, foL 14, a, 2, that
Achadh-farcha is situated in the territory of
Ui-Cremhthainne. This territory is now in-
cluded in the baronies of Slane, in East Meath.
In the Annals of Clonmacnoise the death of
Lughaidh, son of Laeghaire, is entered under
the year 509.

Y2

QNNaca Rio^hachca emeaNN.

[504.

Dpopcha cenncighe, cpe miopbailibh De, cpep an Dimiaoh cuccupcoip DO
Parrjiaicc, amail a Deip an pann po :

a nQchab papca ujpach, bap rhic Laogaipe tujach,
^an molbca call na ponn, De DO popclia cpom ceinncije.

GochaiD, mac TTluipfohaij TTlmnDeipcc, pi Ula6, Decc.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceD a cfcap. Qn ceio bliaDam DO TTIuipcfpcach, mac
TTluipeohaij, mic Gojain, mic Nell, na pijh op Gpinn.

Qoip Cpiopc, ciiicc ceD ape. Qn cpeap b'liaDam Do TTlhuipcfpcach.
lollann, mac Ounlaing, pi Laijfn, Decc. Cac Luacpa pia Comcopb pop
Uib Neill. Qp DO po paiDfo.

Cac lonn tuacpa, uapa cuap, accfp bpijic, ni ppic pap,
planncac pionnab'pac ba huap im copp nlollainn lap na bap.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuij ceo apeacc. Qn cfcpamaD bliabain Do TTluipcfpcach.
Cach Opoma ofpjaije pop poilje mbeppaibe, pia ppiachaiD mac Nell.

x King of Uladh: i. e. of Ulidia; bounded on
the west by Gleann-Kighe, Lougli Neagh, and
the Lower Bann.

y. Muircheartach, son of Muireadhach — He is
otherwise called Muircheartach Mor Mac Earca.
After the death of the monarch Lughaidh,
O'Flaherty introduces, in his Catalogue of the
Christian Kings of Ireland ( Ogygia, iii. 93), an
interregnum of five years, that is, from the year
508 till 513, which he makes the year of Muir-
cheartach's accession. The Annals of Ulster
place the death of Lughaidh in 507, and again,
according to .another authority, in 511, and the
accession of Muircheartach in the year 512.
The probability is that there was no interreg-
num, for Muircheartach, who was the Hector of
the Ui-Neill, was too powerful in Ireland to
be kept from the throne after the death of
Lughaidh.

z Luachair: i. e. a Itushy Place. There are
countless places of this name in Leinster, but

the Editor has never been able to discover the
exact situation of the site of this battle.

" Fionnabhair. — Now Fennor, near Kildare.
— See Inquisitions, Lagenia, Kildare, 8, 40
Jac. i.

b About the body oflllann — It is stated in the
second Life of St. Bridget, published by Colgan
(Trias Thaum., pp. 546 to 563), that after the
death of Illann, King of Leinster, the Nepotes
Neill, or race of Niall of the Nine Hostages, led
an army into Leinster, and proceeded to devas-
tate the province ; but that the Lagenians,
placing the dead body of the king in a chariot,
marched against them, and defeated them with
great slaughter :

" Factum est autem post mortem Illand, qui
vixit annis cxx. congregantes iiepotes Neill ex-
ercitum fines devastare Lageniensium ; inierunt
Lagenienses consilium, dicentes ponamus corpus
mortuum Regis nostri conditum ante nos in
curru contra hostes, et pugnenms contra circa

504.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

165

being struck by a flash of lightning, by the miracles of God, on account of the
insult which he had offered to Patrick, as this quatrain states :

At Achadh-farcha warlike, the death of Laeghaire's son, Lughaidh [occurred],
Without praise in heaven or here, a heavy flash of lightning smote him.

Eochaidh, son of Muireadhach Muindearg, King of Uladh*, died.

The Age of Christ, 504. The first year of Muircheartach, son of Muireadh-
achy, son of Eoghan, son of Niall, as king over Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 506. The third year of Muircheartach. Illann, son
of Dunking, King of Leinster, died. The battle of Luachair" [was fought] by
Cucorb against the Ui-Neill, of which was said :

The fierce battle of Luachair, over head, Brighit saw, no vain vision ;
The bloody battle of Fionnabhair" was noble, about the body of Illannb after
his death.

The Age of Christ, 507. The fourth year of Muircheartach. The battle
of Druim-Deargaighec [was gained] against Foilghe Berraidhe, by Fiacha, son

cadaver ejus. Et illis sic facientibus illico ne-
potes Neill in fugam versi sunt, et csedes iacta
est in eis. Donum enim victoriae per S. Brigidam
adhuc in corpore Regis mansit." — Trias Thaum.,
pp. 551, 552.

The following battles are mentioned in the
ancient historical tale called Borumha Laighean,
as having been fought by the race of Neill
against the Leinstermen, who opposed the pay-
ment of the Borumean tribute, from the period
of the death of Oilioll Molt to that of the pre-
sent monarch :

" The battle of Granni; the battle of Tortan;
the battle of Druim Ladhgainn ; the battle of
Bri-Eile; the battle of Freamhainn, in Meath,
by Failghe Rot, son of Cathaeir (rum illius
Magni Regis) ; twenty-eight battles by the son
of Dunlaing, in consideration of the word"
[curse] " of St. Bridget ; the battle of Magh-
Ochtair, against Lughaidh, son of Laeghaire;

the battle of Druim-da-mhaighe ; the battle of
Dun-Masc" [Dunamase]; " the second battle of
Ocha; the battle of Slabhri; the battle of Cinn-
srathi ; the battle of Finnabhair, by Ailill, son
of Duulaing; the battle around the body of
Illann."

° Druim- Deargaighe. — This battle is entered
in the Annals of Ulster twice ; first at the year
515, and again at 5 16, as follows :

"A. D. 515. Helium Droma derge for Failgi.
Fiacha victor erat. Deinde Campus Midi a Lai-
genets sublatus est.

" A. D. 516. Bellum Droma derge la Fiacha
mac Neill for Failge m-Bearuighe, inde Magh
Midhe a Lageneis sublatus est, ut Ceannfaeladh
cecinit, &c." It is also given in the Annals of
Tighernach, in which the part of Meath re-
covered from Leinster is thus mentioned : " ip
anop u cur pin po pcfipao a CUID Don ITIioe pp
Cui^ui co h-Uipneuc," i.e. "It was by this

166

[511.

dp la cinel piachaiD an pfponn o Cluain in Dibaip co hUipnfch opin ilte,
ariiail apbepc Cfnopaolaoh

Dighal Dia peachc mbliaban,
ba pi oijoe a cpibe
each i nOpomm ofp^aije
ba &e DO cfp maj TTli6e.

Qoip Cpiopc, cms ceo a haoin noecc. Ct hochc Do TTlhuipcfpcach.
8. bpon eppcop o Cuil loppae, i cConoachcuib', Decc, an cochcmaD la Do
mi Inn.

Qoip Cpiopr, cms ceD a DO Deg. Q naoi DO TTlmpcfpcach. 8. Gape
Slaine eppucc Lilcaij, -| 6 pfpca pfp ppeig i ccaob Sfohe Cpuim aniap, DO
ecc, an Dapa la DO mi Nouembpip. Oeich mbliabna ap cheichcpe pichcib a

battle that its part of Meath was separated from
Leinster, as far as Uisneach."

In the Annals of Clonmacnoise it is noticed
as follows :

" A. D. 515. The battle of Dromdargie was
fought by Fiagh mac Neale, in which he re-
covered Usneagh to be of the land of Kynaleagh,
where Foilge Merrye was overcome."

d Cluain-in-dibhair. — This is otherwise called
Cluain-an-dobhair, and is situated somewhere
in the present King's County, but it has not
been identified — See it again referred to at the
years 843, 938, 942.

e Uisneach Now Usnagh hill, in the parish

of Killare, barony of Eathconrath, and county
of Westmeath. — See note «, under A. D. 1414,
p. 818, infra. The territory of Cinel-Fiachrach,
which originally comprised the countries of
O'Molloy, now in the King's County, and of
Mageoghegan, now the barony of Moycashel,
in Westmeath, originally extended from Birr
to the hill of Uisneach. This hill is also re-
markable in Irish history as being the point at
which the five provinces met, and a stone si-
tuated on its summit, now called Cat-Uisnigh,
and by Keating Ail-na-mireann, i.e. "the Rock

of the Divisions," is called Umbilicus Hibernice
by Giraldus Cambrensis. " In quinque por-
tiones sequales inter se diviserunt, quarum ca-
pita in lapide quodam conveniunt apud Mediam
juxta castrum de Kyllari, qui lapis et umbili-
cus Hibernise dicitur: quasi in medio et medi-
tullio terrsB positus." — Topographia Hibernice,
Dist. iii. c. 4.

f The vengeance of God. — The Editor has never
met a full copy of the poem from which this qua-
train is quoted. It would appear to be on the sub-
ject of the formation of the territory of the tribe
of Cinel-Fiachach, who recovered from Failghe
Bearraidhe, chief of Ofially, a tract of country
extending from Cluain-an-dobhair to the hill of
Uisneach, after the battle of Druim-Deargaighe.
The Failghe Berraidhe here referred to is men-
tioned in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick
(part iii. c. 56), as an obdurate Pagan, who at-
tempted to murder St. Patrick, but perished in
the attempt himself, and drew down the ven-
geance of heaven upon his race. He had a
brother, Failghe Eos, or, more correctly, Failghe
Eot, who received St. Patrick with honour, and,
therefore, prospered in the land.

8 Cuil-Irra — A district in the south-west of

511.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

167

of Niall. From that time forward the land [extending] from Cluain-in-dibhaird
to Uisneach6 belongs to the Cinel-Fiachach, as Ceannfaeladh said :

The vengeance of Godf lasted for seven years;

But the joy of his heart was

The battle of Druim-Deargaighe,

By which the plain of Meath was detached.

The Age of Christ, 511. The eighth year of Muircheartach. Saint Bron,
Bishop of Cuil-Irras, in Connaught, died on the eighth day of the month of
June.

The Age of Christ, 512. The ninth year of Muircheartach, Saint Erch,
Bishop of Lilcach' and of Fearta-fear-Feigk, by the side of Sidhe-Truim, to the
west, died on the second day of the month of November. His age was four-

the barony of Carbury, and county of Sligo,
comprising the parishes of Killaspugbrone and
Kilmacnowen. It is stated in the Annotations
of Tirechan, in the Book of Armagh, that St.
Patrick passed from Forrach-mac-nAmhalgaidh
to Eos Filiorum Caitni, where he built a church,
and, crossing the Muaidh [Moy] at Bertriga
[Bartragh], he raised a cross there, and pro-
ceeded thence to the mound of Riabart, near
which he built a church for his disciple, Bishop
Bronus, the son of Icnus. This is called the
church of Cassel-irra in the Tripartite Life of
St. Patrick (part ii. c. 97), and nowCill eapbuij
6pom, anglice Killaspugbrone from this Bishop.
— See Genealogies, Tribes, fyc., of Hy-Fiachrach,
p. 470, and the map to the same work. In
Michael O'Clery's Irish Calendar the festival of
this bishop is entered at 8th of June.

h St. Ere — See note l, under the year 448,
p. 136, supra.

' Lilcach. — Not identified. Dr. O'Conor
takes this to mean " deditus religioni."

k Fearta-fear-Feig. — Dr. O'Conor translates
this: "S. Ercus Slanensis Episcopus deditue
religioni et loci dicti Sepulchra Virorum Feig

in regione locus iste est Trimmise ad Occiden-
tem, obiit die 2do Mensis Novembris." But he
certainly mistakes the meaning. Colgan renders
it : "Ercus Episcopus Lilcaciensis et Ferta-
feggiensis .i. Slanensis *2 Novembris mortuus
est anno setatis 90." — Acta SS., p. 190.

Fearta-fear-Feig, i. e. the Graves of the Men
of Feig, is the ancient name of Slane on the
Boyne, and Sidh-Truim is not the present town
of Trim, as assumed by Dr. O'Conor, but the
name of a hill, situated to the east of Slane.
The situation of Fearta-fear-Feig is described
by Colgan as follows :

" Est locus ad septentrionalem marginem
fluminis Boandi, hodie Slaine dictus. Dicttur
Ferta-fer-Feic .i. fossa?, sive sepulchra virorum
Feic, ex eo quod servi cujusdarn dynasta; nomine
Feic, ibi altas fecerint fossas pro occisorum cor-
poribus humandis." — Trias Thaum., p. 20, n.* 60.

In the fourth Life of St. Patrick a similar
derivation of this name is given; and it is stated
that the paschal fire, lighted there by St. Patrick,
was visible from Tara, which clearly shews that
it is not situated to the west of Trim, as Dr.
O'Conor has so hastily assumed.

168

eii?eaNN.

[513.

aoip an can chfpca, dp e an cfppucc Gipc pin po ba bpficfm Do phaccpaicc.
Gp DO pome pacpaicc an pano po.

Gppucc Gpc, —
gach ni conceapcaoh ba cfpc,
gach aon beipeap coiceapc cfpc
popcpaib fnoachc beappuic Gpo.

Oubrach .1. a Dpuim ofpb eppucc Qpomacha oo paoiofoh a Spiopaicce.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuij ceo acpf oecc. Gn oechrhao bliabain TYlhmpcfpcaij.
.8. TTlacnipi .1. Gon£ap, eppucc Connepe, oecc ancpeap la DO Nouembep.

Cach Oeona, i nOpomaib bpeaj, pia TTlu]pcf|icach mac Gapca, •) pm
cColju, mac Loin, mic Cpuinn, mic pfibbmiD, caoipeac Gipjiall, Du in po
mapbab Ctpojal, mac Conaill Cpemrainne, mic Neill.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo a peace Deg. Q cfcaip Oecc Do TTluipceapcach.
.8. Oapfpca Cille Slebe Cuilinn, oap bainm TTloninoe oecc 6 lulu. Naoi
pichic bliaoham poo a paojoil oia nebpao.

Naoi pichic bliaoam mole,
DO peip piajla jan cime,
jan baep, gan beo, jan baojal,
ba he paojal TTloninoe.

1 Bishop Ere. — This quatrain is also quoted
by Tighernach, who ascribes it to St. Patrick,
in the Book of Lecan, fol. 306, a, 1 ; and in the
Leabhar-Breac, fol. 1 1 , a.

m Druim-Dearbh. — This is probably the place
called Derver, in the county of Louth. Dubh-
thach succeeded in 497 — See Harris's edition
of Ware's Bishops, p. 36.

n Macnisi. — He was a disciple of St. Patrick,
and the founder of the episcopal church of
Connor, in the county of Antrim See Eccle-
siastical Antiquities of Down and Connor and
Dromore, by the Rev. William Reeves, A. B.,
pp. 237-239. Cnes, the daughter of Conchaidh,
of the tribe of Dal-Ceithirn, was his mother,
from whom he was called Mac Cneise. His fes-
tival was kept on the 3rd of September, accord-

ing to the Feilire-Aenguis and O'Clery's Irish
Calendar, in which it is stated that his first
name was Aenghus, and that he was also called
Caemhan Breac.

0 Dedna, in Droma-Sreagh. — This was the
name of a place in the north of the county of
Meath, adjoining that of Cavan. The fort of
Rath-Ochtair-Cuillinn is also referred to as
i n-t)puimnib 6peaj. — See Ledbhar-na-gCeart,
p. 12.

p Citt-Sleibhe- Cnilinn : i. e. the Church of Slieve
Gullion, now Killeavy, an old church in a pa-
rish of the same name, situated at the foot of
Slieve Gullion, in the barony of Upper Orior,
and county of Armagh. This mountain took
its name from Cuileann, an artificer, who lived
here in the reign of Conchobhar Mac Nessa,

513.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

169

score and ten years when he departed. This Bishop Ere was judge to Patrick.
It was for him Patrick composed this quatrain : •

Bishop Ere1, —

Every thing he adjudged was just ;
Every one that passes a just judgment
Shall receive the blessing of Bishop Ere.

Dubhthach, i. e. of Druim-Dearbhm, Bishop of Ard-Macha [Armagh], re-
signed his spirit.

The Age of Christ, 513. The tenth year of Mviircheartach. Saint Mac-
nisin, i. e. Aenghus, Bishop of Coinnere [Connor], died on the third day of
November.

The battle of Dedna, in Droma-Breagh0, by Muircheartach mac Earca, and
by Colga, son of Loite, son of Crunn, son of Feidhlimidh, [son of Colla Dach-
rich], chief of Airghialla, where Ardghal, son of Conall Creamhthainne, son of
Niall, was slain.

The Age of Christ, 517. The fourteenth year of Muircheartach. Saint
Darerca, of Cill-Sleibhe-Cuilinnp, whose [first] name was Moninne, died on the
6th of July. Nine-score years was the length of her life ; of whom was said :

Nine-score years together, according to rule without error,

Without folly, without evil, without danger, was the age of Moninne.

King of Ulster, and by whom the celebrated
hero, Cuchullainn, was fostered. Ussher (Prz-
mordia, p. 705), who had an ancient Life of
Moninne, written by Conchubhranus, and Mi-
chael O'Clery, in his Irish Calendar, have con-
founded this Darerca with Darerca, the sister of
St. Patrick; but they were clearly different per-
sons, for the festival of Darerca, the sister [or
supposed sister] of Patrick, was held on the 22nd
of March, whereas that of Moninne, of Cill-
Sleibhe-Cuilinn, was held on the 6th of July.
On this mistake of Ussher Colgan has the fol-
lowing note in his Life of Darerca, at 22nd
March, which shews the high esteem he had for
Ussher's veracity as a historian :

* "Usserus, de Primordiis Ecclesiar. Britann.
pag. 705 et 706, confundit hanc Darercam so-
rorem Sancti Patricii, cum alia Darerca, dicta
Moninna, Abbatissa de Killslebhe in Ultonia.
Sed si vir, alias Antiquitatis peritissimus, ea,
quse de Sancta Moninna producturi sumus ad 6
Julii, perspecta habuisset aliter sentiisse non
ambigimus." — Ada Sanctorum, p. 719, not. 7.

St. Moninne, of Cill-Sleibhe-Cuillin, founded
seven churches in Scotland, as Ussher shews
from Conchubhranus : one called Chilnacase, in
Galloway ; another on the summit of the moun-
tain of Dundevenal, in Laudonia; the third on
the mountain of Dunbreten ; the fourth at the
castle of Strivelin ; the fifth at Dun-Eden, now

170

[519-

Qoip Cpiopc, cuij ceD anaoi Decc. (X pe Decc DO TTlhuipcfpcach.
S. Conolaeoh, eppcop Cille oapa, cfpD bpijoe, Decc 3. TTlaii.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceD piche a haon. Q hochc Decc Do TTlhuipcfpcach.
8. buice, mac bponaij, eppucc TTlainipcpe, Decc 7. Oecembep.

bpacha bpf co mblaiD, ci cec cpacha Dom cobhaip,
xc 50 njlopaib ngluinn ngloin, of£ mac bponaij, mic bolaip.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceo piche a cpf. Qn pichfcmaD bliabam Do TTluip-
cfpcach. beoaib, eppucc Gpoa capna, Decc, an coccmaD la Do TTlapca.
Gochaib, mac Qonjupa, pijTTluman, Decc.

Cloip Cpiopc, cuijj ceo piche a cfcaip. Q haon pichfc Do TDuipceapcach.
Cach Qcha Sije pia TTluipcfpcach pop Laijnib, DU in po mapbab Sije, mac
Dfin, conab ua6a a Dfpap Qc Sije.

Qoip Cpiopc, cui5 ceo pice a cuicc. Q Do picfc Do TTluipceapcach.
ogh, banabChille oapa [Decc]. Qp DipiDe cecup po hioDbpaohCill

pauperibus largita est." — Trias Thaum., c. 39,
p. 522.

"finite mac Bronaigk — He is the patron saint
of Mainister Buithe, now Monasterboice, in the
barony of Ferrard, and county of Louth, where
his festival was celebrated on the 7th of De-
cember, according to the Feilire-Aenguis See

O'Donnell's Life of St. Columbkille, lib. i. c. 65 ;
see also the Annals of Ulster at the year 518,
where it is stated that St. Columbkille was born
on the same day on which this Buite died.

"A. D. 518. Nativitas Coluim Cille eodem die
quo Bute (Boetius) mac Bronaig dormivit."

His death is also entered in the same Annals,
under the year 522.

s Beoaidh, Bishop ofArd-carna: i. e. Beo-Aedh,
Aidus Vivens, or Vitalis, of Ardcarne, a church
in the barony of Boyle, and county of Roscom-
mon, and about four miles due east of the town of
Boyle — See note b, under the year 1 224. Colgan,
who puts together, at the 8th of March, all
the scattered notices of this saint that he could
find, states (Ada SS., p. 563) that his bell
was preserved at Baile-na-gCleireach, in Breifny

Edinburgli ; the sixth on the mountain of Dun-
pelder ; and the seventh at Lanfortin, near
Dundee, where she died. Some ruins of her
church, near which stood a round tower, are
still to be seen at Killeavy.

i Connlaedh.— "A. D. 520. Conlaedh Eps.
Cille-dara dormivit." — Tigliernach, He was the
first Bishop of Kildare, and his festival was
there celebrated on the 3rd of May, according
to all the Irish martyrologies. In a note on
the Feilire-Aenguis, at this day, it is stated that
Ronnchenn was his first name, and that he was
also called Mochonna Daire ; that he was Bishop
of Kildare, and St. Bridget's chief artificer.
This note adds that he was finally eaten by
wolves. Cogitosus, the author of the second
Life of St. Bridget, published by Colgan, has the
following notice of Conlaedh's episcopal dresses :

" Secundum enim beatissimi lob exemplum
nunquam inopes a se recedere sinu vacuo passa
est; nam vestimenta transmarina et peregrina
Episcopi Conlaith decorati luminis, quibus in
solemnitatibus Domini et vigiliis Apostolorum
sacra in altaribus offerens mysteria utebatur,

5190

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

171

The Age of Christ, -519. The sixteenth year of Muircheartach. Saint
Connlaedhq, Bishop of Kildare, Bridget's brazier, died on the 3rd of May.

The Age of Christ, 521. The eighteenth year of Muircheartach. Saint
Buite mac Bronaighr, bishop of Mainister, died on the 7th of December.

Let Buite, the virtuous judge of fame, come each day to my aid,
The fair hand with the glories of clean deeds, the good son of Bronach, son of
Bolar.

The Age of Christ, 523. The twentieth year of Muircheartach. Beoaidh1,
Bishop of Ard-carna, died the eighth day of March. Eochaidh, son of Aenghus,
King of Munster, died.

The Age of Christ, 524. The twenty-first year of Muircheartach. The
battle of Ath-Sighe' [was gained] by Muircheartach against the Leinstermen,
where Sighe, the son of Dian, was slain, from whom Ath-Sighe is called.

The Age of Christ, 525. Saint Brighit", virgin, Abbess of Cill-dara", [died].
It was to her Cill-dara was first granted, and by her it was founded. Brighit

(now Ballynaglearagh, on the confines of the
counties of Leitrim and Cavan) :

" Ejus nola Ceolan Beoaidh .i. nola Beoadi,
appellata, ad instar proetiosarum reliquiarum
gemmis et argenteo tegumento celata in ecclesia
de Baile-na-cclereach, in regione Breffiniae as-
servatur in magna veneratione, ob multa, quse
in dies per ilium fiunt miracula."

1 Ath-Sighe : i. e. the Ford of Sighe, now
Assey, a parish in the barony of Deece, and
county of Meath. It was originally the name
of a ford on the River Boyne, but afterwards
the name extended to a church and castle erected
near it This battle is entered in the Annals
of Ulster under the year 527 :

" A. D. 527- Bellum Ath-Sighe F°P Laigniu.
Muirceartach mac Erce victor fuit."

u Brighit — This name is explained bpeo-
faijic, i. e. fiery Dart, in Cormac's Glossary and
by Keating. The death of St. Bridget is entered
from various authorities in the Annals of Ulster,
as follows :

" A. D. 523. Quies S. 3rigide an. Ixx etatis sue."

" A. D. 525. Dormitatio Sancte Brigide an.
Ixx etatis sue."

" A. D. 527. Vel hie Dormitatio Brigide secun-
dum librum Mochod."

Dr. O'Conor thinks that the true year is 523.
— See his edition of the Annals of Ulster, p. 13,
note 3, where he writes :

" Omnes, uno ore, referunt obitum S. Brigidse
ad ann. xxx. post excessum S. Patricii, etsi in
anno serse communis dissentiant. Marianus
Scotus obitum S. Patricii referens ad annum
491, post annos xxx. excessum S. Brigidse me-
morat. Vide Mariani Excerpta ex Cod. prse-
stantissimo, Nero, c. v. in Appendice, No. 1.
Atqui Patricius obiit anno 493, ergo Brigida
anno 523."

w Cill-dara.— Now Kildare. This is called
Cella Roloris by Ultanus, in the third Life of
St. Bridget published by Colgan, Trias Thaum.,
p. 531, c. 47; and in the fourth Life, which is
attributed to Animosus, the name is explained
as* follows :

" Ilia jam cella Scotice dicitur Eilldara, la-

z2

172

emectNN.

[526.

oapa, -| ba le conpooachc. dpi bpijic cpa nd rucc a meanmain nd a hinn-
rfipim ap in coimoeab eaoh naonuaipe piarii ace a piopluaDh,-] a pioppmuai-
nea6 Do gpep ma cpiOe -] mfnmain, arhail ap eppoepc ina bfchaiD pfin, -\ i
mbfchaib naoim bpenainn, eppucc Cluana pfpra. l?o rochaic imoppo a
haimpip ace po^nom 50 oiocpa oon coimbe, 05 Denomh pfpc -| miopbal, 05
pldnuccaD gach galaip -| gach cfohma apcfna, amail aipneiDfp a bfra, 50 po
paoiD a ppipac Do cum nime, an ceD la Do mi pebpu, -] po haDnace a copp i
nOun i naon cumba la pacpaicc, co nonoip -\ co naipmiom.

Chlill, eppcop Ctpoa TTlacha, oo Uib bpeapail DopiDe, DO ecc.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceD piche ape. Qn rpeap BliaDam pichfr DoTTlhuip-
cfpcach. dp DO caippnjipe bdip TTlhuipceapcaij aobeapc Caipneach.

Qp am uarhon ap in mbein, ima luaiDpe ilop Sin,

dp piup loipccpi&ep i crin, pop raoib Clecij bdiDpip pin.

.1. la Sfn ingin Sije oopocaip Uiuipcfpcach, i ccionao a harap po mapbporh.

tine vero sonat cella quercus. Quercus enim
altissima ibi erat quam multum S. Brigida dili-
gebat et,benedixit earn: cujus stipes adhuc
manet." — See also Ussher's Primordia, p. 627.

* Her own Life. — Colgan has published six
Lives of St. Bridget in his Trias Thaum. The
first, a metrical Irish one, attributed to St.
Brogan Cloen, who flourished in the time of
Lughaidh, the son of Laeghaire ; the second, a
Latin Life, ascribed to Cogitosus, who is sup-
posed by Colgan to have flourished in the sixth
century, but who is now believed to have writ-
ten in the eighth or ninth century; the third,
which is said to have been written by Ultanus,
a bishop ; the fourth, attributed to Anmchadh,
or Animosus, Bishop of Kildare, who flourished
in the tenth century; the fifth by Laurentius
Dunelinensis ; and the sixth, which is in Latin
metre, by Coelanus of Inis-Cealltra.

* The first day of the month of February This

day is still called lei peile 6pi joe throughout the
Irish-speaking parts of Ireland, and the moffth
of February is called ITU na peile 6pijoe.

1 At Dun : i. e. Downpatrick. This is not
true, for we learn from Cogitosus that the
bodies of Bishop Conlaeth and St. Bridget were
placed on the right and left side of the deco-
rated altar of the church of Kildare, being de-
posited in monuments adorned with various
embellishments of gold and silver, and gems and
precious stones, with crowns of gold and silver
depending from above." — Trias Thaum., pp. 523,
524. It is very clear from this testimony of
Cogitosus, that in his time the story of St.
Bridget being buried at Down was unknown,
and that the finding of the reliques of the Trias
Thaumaturga at Down in 1 185, was an invention
by Sir John De Courcy and his adherents, for the
purpose of exalting the character of Down, then
recently acquired by the English. — See note f ,
under the year 1293, pp. 456, 457. The author
of the fourth Life says that St. Bridget was bu-
ried along with Patrick immediately after her
death, but this is evidently an interpolation
since De Courcy's time.

a Ui-Breasail: i.e. theEace ofBreasal. These

526.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

173

was she who never turned her mind or attention from the Lord for the space of
one hour, but was constantly meditating and thinking of him in her heart and
mind, as is evident in her own Life*, and in the Life of St. Brenainn, Bishop
of Cluain-fearta. She spent her time diligently serving the Lord, performing
wonders and miracles, healing every disease and every malady, as her Life
relates, until she resigned her spirit to heaven, the first day of the month of
Februaryy; and her body was interred at Dunz, in the same tomb with Patrick,
with honour and veneration.

Ailill, Bishop of Armagh, who was of the Ui-Breasai?, died.

The Age of Christ, 526. The twenty- third year of Muircheartach. It was
to predict the death of Muircheartach that Cairneach said :

I am fearfuP of the woman around whom many storms shall move,

For the man who shall be burned in fire, on the side of Cleiteach wine shall

drown.

That is, by Sin, daughter of Sighec, Muircheartach was killed, in revenge of
her father, whom he had slain.

were otherwise called Ui-Breasail-Macha and
Clann - Breasail, and derived their name and
lineage from Breasal, son of Feidhlim, son of
Fiachra Casan, son of Colla Dachrich. — See
O'Flaherty's Ogygia, iii. c. 76. On an old map
of a part of Ulster, preserved in the State Pa-
per's Office, London, the territory of Clanbrazil
is shewn as on the south side of Lough Neagh,
where the Upper Bann enters that lake, from
which, and from the space given it, we may
infer that it was co-extensive with the present
barony of Oneilland East. This Ailill was con-
verted to Christianity by St. Patrick, together
with his five brothers, and succeeded Dubhthach
in the year 513. — See Harris's edition of Ware's
Bishops, p. 37-

b I am fearful. — These verses are also quoted
by Tighernach. They are taken from a very old
tragical tale entitled " Oighidh Mhuircheartaigh
Mhoir micEarca" i. e. the Death of Muirchear-
tach Mor Mac Earca, of which there is a copy

on vellum, preserved in the Library of Trinity
College, Dublin, H. 2. 16, p. 316. According
to this story Muircheartach fell a victim to the
revenge of a concubine named Sin (Sheen), for
whom he had abandoned his lawful queen, but
whom he afterwards consented to put away at
the command of St. Cairneach. This concubine
having lost her father mother, sister, and others
of her family, who were of the old tribe of Tara,
by the hand of Muircheartach, in the battle of
Cirb or Ath-Sighe, on the Boyne, threw herself
in his way, and became his mistress for the ex-
press purpose of wreaking her vengeance upon
him with the greater facility. And the story
states that she burned the house of Cletty over
the head of the monarch, who, when scorched by
the flames, plunged into a puncheon of wine,
in which he was suffocated. Hence, it was said,
that he was drowned and burned.

c Daughter ofSighe. — See note ', under A. D.
524, p. 171, supra.

174

[527.

Car Giblinne pia TYluipcfprach mac Gapca, car moijhe hdilbe, each
aimaine, each Cinneich,-] opccam na cCliach, carh Ctibne, pop Connaccaib,
conaD Do na cacaib fin aebepc CeanDpaolaD.

I

Cach Cinn eich, cac dlmaine,
ba haimpip aipbepc aimpe,
opccain Cliach, each QiDne,
acup each Tnaighe hQilbe.

Caipell, mac TTlvnpeaohaig TTluinDeipcc, pi Ula6, Decc.

Oilill, mac Ountaing, pi taijfn, DO ecc.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceo piche ap cache, lap mbeich cficpe bliaDna pichfc
i pijhe nGpeann Do TTluipcfpcach, mac TTluipfDoij, mic eojam, mic Neill
Naoijiallaij, po loipcceaD e i ccij Clecij uap 66mn, oibce Shamna mp na
bacab hi ppin. Sfn acbepc an pann.

dp mepi Caecen in jfn Do cfp aipeach Nell,
dp 5«nriaoai5 mo ainm, in jach aipm ap pen.

Cfnopaolab po paioh :

i
pillip an pi TTlac Gapca allfich Ua Neill,

pipe puil pfpna in gach moij, bpojaip cpioca hi ccen.

d Magh AiMie — A plain in the south of the
county of Kildare.

e Almhain. — Now the hill of Allen, about five
miles north of the town of Kildare.

f Ceann-eich : i. e. Hill of the Horse, now
Kinneigh, in the county of Kildare, adjoining
Wicklow.

g Cliachs — These were in Idrone, in the pre-
sent county of Carlow.

h Aidhne. — A territory in the south-west of
the county of Galway, comprising the barony of
Kiltartan See Magh Aidhne.

' Burned in the house of Cleiteach The death

of Muircheartach, who was the first monarch of
Ireland of the Cinel-Eoghain or race of Eoghan,
son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, is entered in

the Annals of Tighernach as follows :

" A. D. 533. 6a6u j TTluipceapcuij mic 6pca
acelcumapina,ai6ceSamna, a mullac Cleici^
uap 6omo."

" A.D. 533. The drowning of Muircheartach
mac Erca in a puncheon of wine, on the night
of Samhain, on the summit of Cletty, over the
Boyne."

And thus in the Annals of Ulster :

" A. D. 533. Dimersio Muircertaig filii Erce
in dolio plena vino, in arce Cletig, supra Boin."

" A. D. 535. Velhic badhadh Murchertaig mic
Erca, secundum alios."

In the Annals of Clonmacnoise, as translated
by Mageoghegan, it is noticed as follows :

" A. D. 533. King Moriertagh having had

527.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

175

The battle of Eibhlinne by Muircheartach mac Earca ; the battle of Magh-
Ailbhed; the battle of Almhain6; the battle of Ceann-eichf; the plundering of
the Cliachs8; and the battle of Aidhneh against the Connaughtmen ; of which
battles Ceannfaeladh said :

The battle of Ceann-eich, the battle of Almhain, —

It was an illustrious famous period,

The devastation of the Cliachs, the battle of Aidhne,

And the battle of Magh-Ailbhe.

* •

Cairell, son of Muireadhach Muindearg, King of Ulidia, died.

Oilill, son of Dunking, King of Leinster, died.

The Age of Christ, 527. After Muircheartach, son of Muireadhach, son
of Eoghan, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, had been twenty-four years in the
sovereignty of Ireland, he was burned in the house of Cleiteach1, over the
Boyne, on the night of Samhain [the first of November], after being drowned
in wine. Sin composed this quatrain :

•

I am Taetan, the woman who killed the chief of Niall ;
Gannadhaighj is my name, in every place and road.

Ceanfaeladh said :

The king Mac Earca returns to the side of the Ui-Neill ;

Blood reached the girdlesk in each plain ; the exterior territories were enriched ;

prosperous success, as well before he came to
the crown as after, against these that rebelled
against him, he was at last drowned in a kyve
of wine, in one of his own manour houses called
Cleytagh, neer the river of Boyne, by a fairie
woman that burned the house over the king's
head, on Hollandtide. The king, thinking to
save his life from burning, entered the kyve of
wine, and was so high that the wine could not
keep him for depth, for he was fifteen foot high !
as it is laid down in a certain book of his life
and death. This is the end of the King Mo-
riertagh, who was both killed, drowned, and
burned together, through his own folly, that
trusted this woman, contrary to the advice of

St. Carneagh."

' Gannadaigh. — In the Leabhar- Gabhala of
the O'Clerys, the reading is Gamadaigh. In the
historical tale on the death of Muircheartach,
the concubine who burned the house of Cletty
over his head is called by various names, as Sin,
Taetan, Gaeth, Garbh, Gemadaig, Ochsad, and
lachtadh, all which have certain meanings which
the writer of the story turns to account in
making this lady give equivocal answers to the
king. The name Sin, means storm ; Taetan, fire ;
Gaeth, wind ; Garbh, rough ; Gemadaigh, wintry ;
Ochsad, a groan ; lactadh, lamentation.

k Blood reached the girdles — This is a hyper-
bolical mode of expressing great slaughter : " Ut

176

CINNCKXI

[528.

PO peace pfpaip no caippri, acup biD cian bup cuman,
Oo bfpc sialla Ua Neill, ta gmlla moije TTlurhan.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo pice a hocc. Qn ceD bliaDain Do Uuacal TTlaol-
gapb, mac Copbmaic Caoich, mic Coipppe, mic Neill, i pi£e nGpeann.

CachLuachpa.moipeecip Da inbfp,ppipa pairfp carhQilbe i mbpfghaib,
pia cUuacal TTlaoljapb, pop Ciannachcaibh TTlioe.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceo cpiocha a haon. Qn ceacparhab bliaoham Do
Cuaral. Carh Claonlocha hi cCenel Qoba pia n^oibnearm, caoipioc
Ua piacpach QiDne, aipm in po mapbaD Rlaine, mac Cfpbaill, 05 copnamh
jeillpme Ua TTlaine Connacc.

Qotp Cpiopr, cuig ceD cpiocha a cfcaip. Qn peachcrhab bliabain Do
Cuaral. S. TTlochca, eppucc Cujmaij, Depcipul pacpaig, an naomab la
Decc DO mi Qgupc po paoiD a ppipac Do cum mme, ap paip cuccab an cua-
pupccbdil pi.

piacail TTIochna ba maic bep, cpf cheD bliaDain, buan an cfp,
c niompail pece puap gan mi'p monmaip pece piop.

533, which agrees with the Annals of Ulster.
Animosus, in the fourth Life of St. Bridget,
published by Colgan, c. 99, has the following
notice of the accession of King Tuathal :

" Anno xxx. post obitum S. Patricii, regnante
in Themoria Eegum Hibernise Murchiarta mac
Ere, cui successit in regno Tuathal Moelgarbh
obiit S. Brigida."— Trias Thaum., p. 562.

01 Ailblie, in Breagh — This is the place now
called Cluan-Ailbhe situated in the barony of
Upper Duleek, and county of Meath. Luachair-
mor tier da Inbher denotes " large rushy land
between two streams or estuaries." The terri-
tory of Cianachta-Breagh comprised the baronies
of Upper and Lower Duleek. — See note under
Battle of Crinna, A. D. 226, supra.

11 Claenloch, in Cinel-Aedha. — The name Claen-
loch is now obsolete. Cinel-Aedha, anglice Kine-
lea, was the name of O'Shaughnessy's country,
lying around the town of Gort, in the barony
of Kiltartan, and county of Galway.

hastes ad genua eorundem fuso cruore nata-
rent." IntheLeabhar-Gabkala of the O'Clerys
the reading is as follows :

" Pillip an pi, ITlac 6pca, illeir Ua Peilt,
piece puil pepna in cec nir, bpojhaipCpichi

Cem,
po peace beipip no! ccaippchi, acup ba cian

Bup cuthan,
Oo bepac gialla Ua HeiU, la jialla maijhe

muman."

" The king, Mac Erca, returns to the side of the

Ui-Neill,
Blood reached the girdles in each battle, an

encrease to Crich-Cein!
Seven times he brought nine chariots, and,

long shall it be remembered,
He bore away the hostages of the Ui-Noill,
with the hostages of the plain of Munster."

1 Tuaihal Maelgarbh O'Flaherty places the

accession of Tuthalius Calvoasper in the year

528.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 177

Seven times he brought nine chariots, and long shall it be remembered
He bore away the hostages of the Ui-Neill, with the hostages of the plain of
Munster.

The Age of Christ, 528. The first year of Tuathal Maelgarbh1, son of
Cormac Caech, son of Cairbre, son of Mall, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The battle of Luachair-mor between the two Invers, which is called the
battle of Ailbhe, in Breaghm, by Tuathal Maelgarbh, against the Cianachta of
Meath.

The Age of Christ, 531. The fourth year of Tuathal. The battle of
Claenloch, in Cinel-Aedh", by Goibhneann0, chief of Ui-Fiachrach-Aidhne,
where Maine, son of Cearbhall, was killed, in defending the hostages of Ui-Maine
of Connaughtp.

The Age of Christ, 534. The seventh year of Tuathal. Saint Mochta,
Bishop of Lughmhaghq, disciple of St. Patrick, resigned his spirit to heaven on
the nineteenth day of August. It was of him the following testimony was
given :

The teeth of Mochta1 of good morals, for three hundred years, lasting the rigour !
Were without [emitting] an erring word out from them, without [admitting]
a morsel of obsonium inside them.

0 Goibhneann — This Goibhneann was the great descended from Maine, son of Niall of the Nine

grandfather of the celebrated Guaire Aidhne, Hostages. After the establishment of surnames

King of Connaught, who died in the year 662. O'Kelly was chief of Ui-Maine, in Connaught,

He was the son of Conall, son of Eoghan Aidhne, and O'Catharnaigh, now Fox, chief of Tir-Many,

son of Eochaidh Breac, who was the third son or Teffia.

of Dathi, the last Pagan monarch of Ireland. q Mochta, Bishop ofLughmhagh: i. e. Mocteus,

He is the ancestor of the Ui-Fiachrach-Aidhne, Bishop of Louth. — See note 8, under A. D. 448;

whose country was coextensive with the diocese and note u, under A. D. 1 176.

of Kilmacduagh. — See Genealogies, Tribes, and ' The teeth of Mochta — These verses are also

Customs of ' Hy-Fiachrach, pp. 373, 374, and the quoted, with some slight variations of reading,

large genealogical table in the same work. in the gloss on the FeUire-Aengius, preserved in

P Ui-Maine, of Connaught — The people of Hy- the Leahhar- Breac, after 15th April, and in

Many, seated in the present counties of Gal way O'Clery's Irish Calendar, at 19th August, which

and Roscommon. These were an offset of the is one of the festivals of St. Mochta. They are

Oirghialla or Clann-Colla, and are here called also given (excepting the last quatrain), with a

" of Connaught," to distinguish them from the Latin translation, by Colgan, Acta Sanctorum,

Ui-Maine of Teffia, in Westmeath, who were 24 Mart., as follows :

2 A

178

[535.

pichic peanoip ppalmach, a cfglach piojba pemeann,
J5an ap, gem buain, gan cfopaD, jan gmorhpab, accmab leijionn.
Peap cpf pichic pfp cpf ceD, apcapuin ap pean an Dec,
Mi mo cm ogan po jail, ip aicpibe an pfinpiacail.

CtoipCpiopc.cuicc ceD cpiocha a cuij. Qn cochcmab bliabain DoCuacal.
Gaclaip Doipe Caljaij Do pochughab la Colom Cille, lap ne&baipc an baile
DO Dia Depbpine pen .1. Cenel cConaill ^ulban mic Nell.

Copbmac, mac Oiblla, pi Lai jfn, Decc.

Oilill, eppcop Ctpoa TTlacha, DO ecc. Oo UiB bpfpal DoipiDe beop.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceD cpiocha a peachc. Qn DeachmaD bliaDain Do
Uuacal. S. LughaiD, eppucc Connepe, Decc.

Cach Slijighe pia bpfpgup i pia nOomnall, Da mac TTluipcfpcai j, mic
Gapcca, pia nQinmipe, mac SeDna, •] pia nQinDiD, mac Ouach, pop Gojan
bel, pi Connachc. T?o meabaiD an each pfmpa, Do pochaip Gojan 6el, Dia
nebpaD inDpo.

pichcep each Ua piachpach, la pfipcc paobaip, cap imbel,
buap namac pprplfjha, ppecha in cac i CpinDep.

Sexaginta seniores psalmicani, choriato ejus
familia augusta et magnifica,

Qui nee arabant, nee metebant, nee tritura--
bant, nee aliud faciebant, quam studiis in-
cumbere."— Acta Sanctorum, p. 734.

Colgan then goes on to shew that cpi cdo
bliaoan is an error for cpi pe ceo bliaoon, or
ppi p6 ceo bliaoam, i. e. for a period of one
hundred years ; and he quotes four lines from a
poem by Cumineus of Connor, to shew that
Mochta lived only one hundred years in this
state of austerity.

s Doire-Chalgaigh. — Now Derry or London-
derry. The name Doire-Chalgaigh is translated
Roboretum Calgachi by Adamnan, in his Life
of Columba, lib. i. c. 20. According to tEe
Annals of Ulster this monastery was founded
in 545, which is evidently the true year.

" A. D. 545. Daire Coluim Cille fundata est."

" piacuil FDocca, ba tnaic b6p ! cpf c6o blia-

6an (buan an dip)
gan jhur niompuill peice punp ! jan riiip

nionmaip peice pip.

Nip bo oocca muinnceplTlocca! Cujmaijlip:
Cpt ceo pajapc, um ceo neppoc! maille

Cpi picio peanoip palmac! a ceajlac pioj-

6a pemeno :
^an ap, jan Buain, jan ciopao, gan jniorh-

pao, aco mao lejeno."

" Denies Moctei, qui fuit moribus integer, spa-

tio trecentorum annorum (quantus rigor!)
Nee verbum otiosum extra emisere, nee quid-

quam obsonii intra admisere.
Non fuit angusta familia Moctei, Lugmagensis

Monasterii :
Trecentiprassbyteri, et centum Episcopi, erant

cum ipso

535.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 179

Three-score psalm-singing seniors, his household of regal course,

Without tilling, reaping, or threshing, without any work but reading.

A man of three-score, a man of three hundred, blessed be God, how old the

teeth !
Not more has the youth under valour ! How lasting the ancient teeth !

The Age of Christ, 535. The eighth year of Tuathal. The church of
Doire-Calgaigh* was founded by Colum Cille, the place having been granted
to him by his own tribe1, i. e. the race of Conall Gulban, son of Niall.

Cormac, son of Ailill, King of Leinster, died.

Oilill, Bishop of Armagh", died. He was also of the Ui-Breasail.

The Age of Christ, 537. The tenth year of Tuathal. St. Lughaidh, Bishop
of Connor, died.

The battle of Sligeach" by Fearghus and Domhnall, the two sons of Muir-
cheartach mac Earca ; by Ainmire, son of Sedna ; and Ainnidh, son of Duach,
against Eoghan Bel, King of Connaught. They routed the forces before them,
and Eoghan Bel was slain, of which was said :

The battle of the Ui-Fiachrach was fought with fury of edged weapons against

Bel,
The kine of the enemy roared with the javelins, the battle was spread out at

Grinder*. < '•., ..

Colgan, who does not appear to have observed who died in 526 — See note under that year,

this date in the Ulster Annals, has come to the and Harris's edition of Ware's Bishops, p. 37.
conclusion that it could not have been erected w Sligeach: i.e. the River Sligo, which rises

before the year 540, as St. Columbkille was in Lough Gill, and washes the town of Sligo.
born in the year 516 [recte 518] — See Trias * At Grinder. — This might be read "at

Thaum., p. 502. Kinder," but neither form of the name is now

* His own tribe. — St. Columbkille was the son extant. There is a very curious account of this

of Feidhlim, son of Fearghus Ceannfada, who battle of Sligeach in the Life of St. Ceallach,

was son of Conall Gulban, the ancestor of Kinel- Bishop of Kilmore-Moy, who was the son of

Connell, the most distinguished families of Eoghan Bel, King of Connaught who was slain

whom were the O'Canannans, O'Muldorrys, in this battle. It states that Eoghan lived three

O'Donnells, O'Dohertys, O'Boyles, and O'Gal- days, or, according to other accounts, a week,

laghers, who always regarded St. Columbkille after being mortally wounded in this battle,

as their relative and patron. That when he felt his own strength giving way,

u Oilill, Bishop of Armagh.— He is otherwise and saw that death was inevitable, he advised

called Ailill. He succeeded his relative Ailill I., his own people, the Ui-Fiachrach, to send for

2 A2

180

cnwata Rio^hachca emeawN.

[538.

dp celc Slicech DO mup map Fuile

bepcair ilaij rap 6ba, im cfnD nGogham beoil.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceo rpiocha a hochr. lap mbfir aon bliabam Decc
hi pfghe nGpeann DO Uuacal TTlaoljapb, mac Copbmaic Caoich, mic Coipppe,
mic Nell, copchaip i n^pea^'S eillce la TTlaolmop, mac Cfipgfoain, oioe
Oiapmooa mic Cfpbaill epibe, -\ DO pochaip TTlaolmop inD po cheoop, Dia
nebpaDh,

Gchc TTlaoile moip naD mall, nf gniom coip po CITID,

TTlapbaD Uuacoil cpein, aopochaip pein inn.

his son Ceallach, who was at Clonmacnoise,
under the tuition of St. Kieran, to be prepared
for holy orders, and entreat of him to accept of
the kingdom of Connaught, as his second son,
Muireadhach, was not of fit age to succeed him.
His people did so, and Ceallach, fired with am-
bition at the news of his being the next heir to
the kingdom of Connaught, forgot his promises
to St. Kieran, and eloped from him, despite of
all his remonstrances and threats. The result
was that St. Kieran denounced and cursed him
solemnly, which finally wrought his destruction.
According to this authority, Eoghan Bel or-
dered his people to bury his body on the south
side of Sligeach, in a standing position, with his
red javelin in his hand, and with his face turned
towards Ulster, as if fighting with his enemies.
This was accordingly done, and the result is said
to have been that, as long as the body was left
in that position, the Connaughtmen routed the
Ulstennen, who fled, panic-stricken, whenever
they came in collision with them. But the
Ulstennen, learning the cause of such a talis-
manic result, disinterred the body of Eoghan
Bel, and, carrying it northwards over the River
Sligeach, buried it, with the face under, at the
cemetery of Aenach-Locha-Gile, on the north
side of the river, and thus restored their natural
courage to the Ulstermen — See note s, under
the year 458, pp. 144, 145, supra, where the

body of the monarch Laeghaire is said to have
been interred at Tara, accoutred in his battle
dress, and with his face turned against his ene-
mies, the Leinstermen, as if defying them to
battle — See also Genealogies, Tribes, fyc., of Hy-
Fiachrach, pp. 472, 473.

y Eabha Now Machaire-Eabha, a plain at

the foot of the mountain of Binbulbin, to the
north of the River Sligo, through which the
Ulster army generally marched on their incur-
sions into Connaught.

' Greallach-eittte : i. e. the Miry Place of the
Does. According to the Book of Lecan, this
place is situated at the foot of Sliabh Gamh.
In the Annals of Ulster the death of Tuathal
Maelgarbh is entered under the year 543, as
follows :

" A. D. 543. Tuathal Maelgarb juguLaius esl
a nGreallach-Alta la Maelmorda, cui successit
Diarmait mac Cearbhail, Bex Hibernue."

" A. D. 548. Vel hoc anno Tuathal Maelgarb
interiit in Grellach Elte, Rex Temorie jugulatus
per Maelmore, qui et ipse statim occisus est; unde
dicitur, the Greate act of Maelmore." — Cod. Clar.

In the Annals of Clonmacnoise, however, it is
stated that he was killed at Greallach-Daphill
[which is situated on the River LifFey, in the
present county of Kildare], in the year 547,
but the true year is 544, as appears from Tigh-
ernach. The Annals of Clonmacnoise give the

538.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

181

The Sligeach bore to the great sea the blood of men with their flesh,

They carried many trophies across Eabhay, together with the head of Eoghan Bel.

The Age of Christ, 538. After Tuathal Maelgarbh, son of Cormac Caech,
son of Cairbre, son of Niall, had been eleven years in the sovereignty of Ireland,
he was slain, at Greallach-eilltez, by Maelmor, son of Airgeadan, who was the
tutor of Diarmaid mac Cearbhaill ; and Maelmor fell in revenge of it thereof
immediately, of which was said :

The fate of Maelmor was not slow; it was not a just deed he accomplished,
The killing of the mighty Tuathal ; he himself fell for it.

following account of the manner in which this
monarch came by his death :

"A. D. 535. Twahal Moylegarve began his
reign, and reigned eleven years. He was son of
Cormack Keigh, who was son of Carbrey, who
was son of Neal of the Nine Hostages. He
caused Dermot Mac Kervel to live in exile, and
in desert places, because he claimed to have a
right to the crown."

" A. D. 547 [rede 544]. King Twahal having
proclaimed throughout the whole kingdom the
banishment of Dermot Mac Kervel, with a great
reward to him that would bring him his heart,
the said Dermot, for fear of his life, lived in
the deserts of Clonvicknose (then called Artibra) ;
and meeting with the abbot St. Keyran, in the
place where the church of Clonvicknose now
stands, who was but newly come hither to
dwell from Inis-Angin" [now InipQinjm, alias
Hares' Island, in the Shannon], "and having no
house or place to reside and dwell in, the said
Dermot gave him his assistance to make a house
there ; and in thrusting down in the earth one
of the peers of the tymber or wattles of the
house, Dermot took St. Keyran's hand, and did
put it over his own hand in sign of reverence to
the saint. Whereupon St. Keyran humbly be-
sought God, of his great goodness, that by that
time to-morrow ensuing that the hands of
Dermot might have superiority over all Ireland,

which fell out as the saint requested; for Mul-
morrie O'Hargedie, foster-brother of the said
Dermot, seeing in what perplexity the noble-
man was in, besought him that he would be
pleased to lend him his black horse, and that he
would make his repair to Greallie-da-Phill,
where he heard King Twahal to have a meeting
with some of his nobles, and there would pre-
sent him a whealp's heart on a spear's head, in-
stead of Dermot's heart, and by that means get
access to the King, whom he would kill out of
hand, and by the help and swiftness of his horse
save his own life, whether they would or no.
Dermot, lystening to the words of his foster-
brother, was among" [between] " two extre-
mities, loath to refuse him, and far more loath
to lend it him, fearing he should miscarry, and
be killed ; but between both he granted him his
request; whereupon he prepared himself, and
went as he resolved, mounted on the black horse,
a heart besprinkled with blood on his spear, to
the place where he heard the King to be. The
King and people, seeing him come in that man-
ner, supposed that it was Dermot's heart that
was to be presented by the man that rode in
poste haste ; the whole multitude gave him way
to the King; and when he came within reach
to the King, as though to tender him the heart,
he gave the King such a deadly blow of his
fpear that he (the King) instantly fell down

182

[539-

Goip Cpiopc, cuicc ceo cpiocha a naoi. Qn ceio bliabain Do Oiapmaicc,
mac pfpjupa Ceippbeoil, i pije nGpeann. Oicfnoaoh Gbacuc i naonach
'Cailcfn cpe miopbailib Oe -| Ciapdin .1. luije neicij Do paDpom po laim
Ciapam, co po gab aillpe pop a mumel (.1. ap pop a muinel po puipim Ciapan
a lam) co copcaip a ceano oe.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuijj ceo cfrpacha a haon. Ctn cpeap bliaoain Do Oiapmaic.
S. Qilbe, aipoeppoc Imlich lubaip, Oecc an Dapa la Decc Do Seprembep.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceo ceacpacha a rpf. Ctn cuijeaD blia&ain Do Oiap-
maic. pidij egpamail coiccfnn ap pf6 na cpuinne, gup pgpiop an rpian bii
aipmionice Don cinfo Daonna.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceo cfcpacha, a cfraip. Qn peipeaO blia&ain Do
Oiapmaic. S. TTlobf Clapameach .1. bfpchan 6 5^aiP NaiDen, pop bpu
abano Lippe, Don Ifir i rcuaiD, Decc, an Dapa la Decc Do mi Occobep.

Cach Guile Conaipe i cCfpa pia bphfpjup -j pia nOomnall Da mac

dead in the midst of his people; whereupon the
man was upon all sides besett, and at last taken
and killed ; so as speedy news came to Dermot,
who immediately went to Taragh, and there was
crowned King, as St. Keyran" [had] " prayed
and prophesied before." — See also Ussher's
Primordia, pp. 947, 954, 957, 1064, 1065,
1139.

a The first year of Diarmaid. — The accession
of Diarmaid is entered in the Clarendon copy of
the translation of the Annals of Ulster, torn. 49,
under the year 544, as follows :

" A. D. 544. Mortalitas prima quee dicitur
Blefed, in qua Mobi Claireineach obiit. Mors
Comgail mac Domangairt, ut aliidicunt. Diarmot,
mac Fergussa, Ceirbeoil, mic Conaill Cremthain,
mic Neill Naigiallaig, regnare incipit, secundum
Librum Cuanach."

It should be here remarked that in Doctor
O'Conor's edition of the Annals of Ulster the
pedigree of Diarmaid is made that of Congal
mac Domangairt, King of Scotland, by a mistake
of his own, or of his original. This error, he ob-
serves, is in the Clarendon and Bodleian copies ;

but this is not true, for the passage is correct,
and as above printed, in the Clarendon manu-
script, torn. 49.

b Abacuc, — This extraordinary story is also
given in the Annals of Tighernach. It would
appear from the Dublin copy of the Annals of
Innisfallen, that he was brought to Clonmac-
noise to be cured, and that he lived six years
afterwards ! — See the Irish version of Nennius,
where different versions of this story are given.

c Indeach-Iubhair: i. e. the Holm or Strath of
the Yew, now Emly, in the county of Tippe-
rary. See Harris's edition of Ware's Bishops,
pp. 489, 491. In the Annals of Ulster, and
the Bodleian copy of the Annals of Inisfallen,
the death of Ailbhe is entered under the year
526, which seems the true year; but it is re-
peated in the Annals of Ulster at 541. Ware
quotes the Life of St. Declan, and the Life of
St. Ailbhe, to shew that Emly was made the
seat of the archbishopric of Munster, in the
lifetime of St. Patrick, and that St. Ailbhe was
constituted archbishop ; and Ussher (Primordia,
p. 866) quotes an old Irish distich from Declan's

539.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

183

The Age of Christ, 539. The first year of Diarmaid", son of Fearghus
Ceirrbheoil, in the sovereignty of Ireland. The decapitation of Abacucb at the
fair of Tailltin, through the miracles of God and Ciaran ; that is, a false oath he
took upon the hand of Ciaran, so that a gangrene took him in his neck (i. e.
St. Ciaran put his hand upon his neck), so that it cut off his head.

The Age of Christ, 541. The third year of Diarmaid. St. Ailbhe, Arch-
bishop of Imleach-Iubhairc, died on the twelfth day of September.

The Age of Christ, 543. The fifth year of Diarmaid. There was an ex-
traordinary universal plagued through the world, which swept away the noblest
third part of the human race.

The Age of Christ, 544. The sixth year of Diarmaid. St. Mobhi Cla-
raineach6, i. e. Berchan of Glais-Naidhenf, oft the brink of the Liffey, on the
north side, died on the second day of the month of October.

The battle of Cuil-Conaire, in Ceara8, [was fought] by Fearghus and Dom'h-

Life, to shew that St. Ailbhe was called the
"Patrick" of Munster. It is said that St.
Ailbhe was converted to Christianity so early
as the year 360 (Ussher, Index Chron. ad an.
360) ; but this is incredible, if he lived either
till 526 or 541. Tirechan says that he was
ordained a priest by St. Patrick, and this is evi-
dently the truth. His festival was celebrated at
Emly on the 12th of September.

d Universal plague This plague, which was

called by the Irish Blefed, is entered in the
Annals of Ulster under the year 544, and in
the Annals of •Clonmacnoise under 546. In
most chronological tables it is noticed under
the year 543, as having passed from Africa into
Europe. It is thus entered in Tighernach's
Annals:

" Kal. Jan.fer. 1, anno postquam Papa Vigi-
lius obiit, Mortalitas magna que Blefed dicitur, in
qua Mobi Clarinach, cut nomen est Berchan,
obiit."

" St. Mobhi Claraineach : i. e. Mobhi of the
flat Face (tabulata facie) — See O'Donnell's Vita
Columbce, lib. i. c. 43; Trias Thaum., 396.

f Glais-Naidhen — Now Glasnevin, near Dub-
lin. Dr. Lanigan asserts, in his Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 78, that Glais-
Naidhen must have been on the south side of
the River Liffey, because it was in the territory
of Galenga; ; but this generally acute and honest
writer was imposed on in this instance by the
fabrications of Beauford and Rawson. The Four
Masters should have described it as " near the
Liffey to the north," or " popBpu Pionnglaipe
FP' tipe a ocuaio, on the brink of the Finglass,
to the north of the Liffey," and not " on the
margin of the Liffey." — See Colgan's Trias
Thaum., p. 613, where Glais-Naoidhen is de-
scribed as "in regione GalengK, et juxta Lif-
feum fluvium in Lagenia."

Mageoghegan states, in his Annals of Clon-
macnoise^ that he " is supposed to be" [the same
as the prophet] " called in English Merlin."

* Cuil-Conaire, in Ceara — There is no place
now bearing this name in the barony of Ceara,
or Carra, in the county of Mayo/ This battle
is entered in the Annals of Ulster under the
year 549, as follows :

184

[545.

TTluipcfpcaich mic Gapcca, pop Qilill Inb'anoa, pi Conoachr, -j pop Qooh
ppopcarhail, i copchaip Qilill -] Gooh ann.

Qoip Cpiopr, cui5 ceo cfcpacha a cuig. "Qn peaccrhab bliabain Do Oiap-
S. Qilbe Sfnchuae Ua nOiliolla oecc.

maic.

Qoip Cpiopr, GUIS ceo cfrpacha ape. Qn rochcrhab bliabain Do Diap-
maicc. Cach Cuilne in po mapbab pocaibe Do Chopc Oice rpia epnaibe
n-loe Cluana cpeabail. porhab mac Conaill Oecc. Caipppe, mac Copp-
maic, pi Laijfn, Do ecc.

Qoip Cpiopr, cui5 ceo cfrpacha a peachc. Qn naomab bliabain Do
Oiapmair. Ri Ulaoh, 6ochai6, mac Conolaib, mic Caolb'aib, mic Cpuinn
6a6pai, oecc.

Coipeac Uearhba, Cpiomrann, mac bpiuin, Decc.

8. Dubrach, abb Qpoa TTlaca, DO ecc. Oo pfol Colla Uaip Dopi&e.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceD cfcpacha a hochc. Q Deich Do Diapmaicc.
3. Ciapan mac an cpaoip, ab Cluana mic Noip, Decc an naomab la Do Sep-
rembep. Upi bliabna cpiocha poc a paojail.

" A. D. 549. Bellum Guile Conaire i gCera,
ubi cecidit Ailill Inbanna, ri Connacbt acus Aed
Fortobal, a brathair. Fergus et Domnall, da
mac Muircheartaig mic Earca, victores erant.

" A. D. 549. The battle of Cuil-Conaire in
Ceara" [was fought] "where fell Ailill Inbanna,
King of Connaught, and his brother, Aedh the
Brave. Fearghus and Domhnall, the two sons
of Muircheartach mac Earca, were the victors."
— See Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy-
Fiachrach, p. 313.

h Seanchua-Ua-nOiliolla Now Shancoe, a

parish in the barony of Tir-Oiliolla, or Tirerrill,
in the county of Sligo. This church is men-
tioned in the Annotations of Tirechan, in the
Book of Armagh, fol. 15, a, a; and in the Tri-
partite Life of St. Patrick, part ii. c. 35 ; Trias
Thaum., p. 134.

' Cuilne. — Not identified. This passage is
entered in the Annals of Ulster at the year 551,
thus :

" A. D. 551. Bellum Cuilne, in quo ceciderunt

Corcu Oche Muman, oraiionibus Itce Cluana."

k Corcoiche. — These were a sept of the Ui-
Fidhgeinte, seated in the present county of
Limerick, in the barony of Lower Connello, of
whom, after the establishment of surnames,
O'Macassy was the chieftain. The celebrated
St. Molua, of Cluain-feartaMolua, in the Queen's
County, was of this sept, but St. Ida was their
patron — See O'Flaherty's Ogygia, iii. c. 81.

1 Cluain-Creadhail. — NowKilleedy, an ancient
church in a parish of the same name, in the
barony of Upper Connello and county of Lime-
rick, and about five miles to the south of New-
castle. This monastery is described in the Life
of St. Ita, as well as in that of St. Brendan, as
situated at the foot of Sliabh-Luachra, in the
west of the territory of Ui- Conaill- Gabhra; and
the writer of the Life of St. Brendan states that
it was Kill-Ite in his own time — See Life of
St. Ita apud Colgan, 15th Jan.

mFothadh,sonofConall — Some of these events
are misplaced in the Annals of the Four Masters,

545.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

185

nail, two sons of Muircheartach mac Earca, against Ailill Inbhanda, King of
Connaught, and Aedh Fortamhail ; and Ailill and Aedh were slain.

The Age of Christ, 545. The seventh year of Diarmaid. St. Ailbhe, of
Seanchu-Ua-nOiliollah, died.

The Age of Christ, 546. The battle of Cuilne1, in which many of the
Corcoiche* were slain through the prayers of [St.] Ida, of Cluain-Creadhail.
Fothadh, son of Conallm, died. Cairbre, son of Corroac, King of Leinster, died.

The Age of Christ, 547. The ninth year of Diarmaid. The King of Ulidia,
Eochaidh, son of Connla", son of Caelbhadh, son of Crunn Badhrai, died.

The chief of Teathbha, Crimhthann, son of Brian0, died.

St. Dubhthach", Abbot of Ard-Macha [Armagh], died. He was of the race
of Colla Uais.

The Age of Christ, 548. The tenth year of Diarmaid. St. Ciaran", son of
the artificer, Abbot of Cluain-mic-Noisr, died on the ninth day of September.
Thirty-three years was the length of his life.

as will appear from the Annals of Ulster and
Clonmacnoise :

" A. D. 551. Mors Fothaid, JUii Conaill."—
Ann. Ult.

" A. D. 550. Fohagh mac Conell died."— An-
nals of Clonmacnoise.

" Eochaidh, son ofConnla " A.D.552. Mors

Eachach mic Conleid, ri Ulad a quo omnes I-
Eachach-Ulad." — Ann. Ult., Clarendon, torn. 49.

"A. D. 550. Ahagh mac Conlay, King of Ul-
ster, of whom Ivehagh is called." — Ann. Clon.

° Crimhthann, son of Brian — "A.D.552. Mors
Crimthain mic Briuin. Sic in Libra Cuanach
invent." — Ann. Ult.

" A. D. 550. Criowhan mac Briwyn, King of
Teafia, died."

This Crimhthann (Criffan) was the brother of
Brendan, chief of Teffia, who granted the site
of Dearmhagh, now Burrow, to St. Columbkille.
He was son of Brian, son of Maine (the ancestor
of the Ui-Maine of Meath, otherwise called the
men of Teffia), who was son of the monarch
Niall of the Nine Hostages.

2

p Dubhthach — In the Annals of Ulster he is
called Duach:

" A. D. 547. Duach, abbas Arda Macha, do
siol Colla Uais, quievit."

But he is called Dubhthach in the list of the
archbishops of Armagh preserved in the Psalter
of Cashel, and this is the true form of the name.
— See Harris's edition of Ware's Bishops, p. 38 ;
also at the year 513.

' St. Ciaran — "A.D. 548. Dormitatio Ciarain
mic an tsaoir anno xxxiv etatis sue." — Ann. Ult.

" A. D. 547. King Dermot was not above
seven months king, when St. Keyran died in
Clonvicknose, when he dwelt therein but seven
months before, in the thirty-third year of his
age, the 9th of September. His father's name
was Beoy, a Connaughtman, and a carpenter.
His mother, Darerca, of the issue of Corck mac
Fergus Mac Eoye, of the Clanna-Eowries, &c.,
&c. His body was buried in the little church
of Clonvicknose." — Ann. Clon.

' Cluain-mic-Nois. — Now Clonmacnoise, other-
wise called the " seven churches," situated on

186

[548.

8. Uijfpnach, eappocCluana heoaip, Do ool Decc an cfrpamaD odppil.

S. TTlac Uail Cille Cuilinn (.1. Gojan mac Copcpam) oecc, an raonmab
la oecc Do mf lun. 8. Colum mac Cpiomehamn Decc.

8. Sinceall pfn, mac Cfnanoam, abb Cille achaio Opoma poDa, DO &ol
Decc an peipeaO la pichfc DO TTlapca, cpiocha ap cpi ceo bliabain poD a
paojail.

8. Oohpdn, o Leicpiochaib' Oopdin, Decc an Dapa la Do mi Occobep.

8. pinDen, abbCluana hGpaipo, oioe naom Gpeann, Decc, 12 Oecembep.
8. Colaim Innpi Cealrpa Decc. Oon mopclaD Dap bo hamm an Chpon

the east side of the Shannon, in the barony of
Garrycastle, and King's County. This was
founded by St. Ciaran in the year 547, accord-
ing to the Annals of Ulster.

s Cluain-eois — Now Clones, in the barony of
Dartry, and county of Monaghan. The Annals
of Ulster agree in placing his death in this year.

1 CM- Cuilinn. — Now old Kilcullen, in the
county of Kildare. The Annals of Ulster agree
with this date, but the Annals of Clonmacnoise
place the death of Mac Tail in the year 550.

" Colum, son of Crimhthann. — According to
the Feilire-Aenguis and the Calendar and Ge-
nealogies of the Irish Saints, compiled by Mi-
chael O'Clery, he was abbot of Tir-da-ghlais
(now Terryglass, near the Shannon, in the ba-
rony of Lower Ormond, and county of Tippe-
rary), where his festival was celebrated on the
13th of December. O'Clery remarks that, al-
though he was called Mac Crimhthann, he was
really the son of Ninnidh, who was the fifth in
descent from Crimhthann. He should, there-
fore, be called Colam Ua-Crimlithainu, and in
the Annals of Ulster he is called " Colum nepos
Crumthainn." Thus :

" A. D. 548. Mortalitas magna in qua istipau-
sant Colum nepos Crumthainn, et Mac Tail Cille
Cuilinn," &c.

™ Cill-achaidh Droma-foda — Now Killeigh, in
the barony of Geshill, King's County — See notes

under A. D. 1393 and 1447. St. Sincheall, the
elder, was the son of Cennfhionnan, who was
the ninth in descent from Cathaeir Mor, mo-
narch of Ireland. His festival was celebrated
at Killeigh, on the 26th of March. St. Sin-
cheall, junior, was his relative, and his festival
was celebrated on the 25th of June. — See Col-
gan's Ada Sanctorum, pp. 747, 748.

* Thirty and three hundred years. — Colgan
thinks that this number should be 130. His
words are as follows :

" Ita Quatuor Mag. in Annalibus ad eundem
annum dicentes : ' S. Senchellus senior, jtims Cen-
nannani, Abbas de Kitt-achuidh-Drumfhoda, obiit
26 Martii vixit annis 330.' Et idem quoad an-
nos vitae ejus tradit Maguir ad 26 Martii, et
Scholiastes Festilogii ^Engussianni, ex cujus
depravato (ut reor) textu hie error videtur
originem duxisse. In eo enim legitur, tricked
bliadhan If tridhich, .i. trecenti anni, et triginta,
ubi legendum potius videtur re died bliadhan fy
tridheich .i. spatio centum annorum, & triginta.
Nam qui anno 548 obiit, si tricentis triginta
annis vixisset, debuit natus fuisse anno 219,
quod plane est incredibile ; cum nullus author
indicet ipsum floruisse ante tempera S. Patricii,
qui anno 432 in Hiberniam venit." — Acta Sanc-
torum, p. 748, not. 10.

y Leitrioch-Odhrain. — Now Latteragh, in the
barony of Upper Ormond, and county of Tippe-

548.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

187

St. Tighearnach, Bishop of Cluain-eoiss, died on the 4th of April.

St. Mac Tail of Cill-Cuilinir (i. e. Eoghan, son of Corcran), died on the
eleventh day of the month of June. St. Colum, son of Crimhthann", died.

St. Sincheall the elder, son of Ceanannan, Abbot of Cill-achaidh Droma-
foda", died on the twenty-sixth day of March. Thirty and three hundred years1
was the length of his life.

St. Odhran, of Leitrioch-Odhrain", died on the second day of the month of
October.

St. Finnen, Abbot of Cluain-Erairdz, tutor of the saints of Ireland, died.
St. Colam, of Inis-Cealtraa, died. Of the mortality which was called the Cron-

rary See Colgan's Ada Sanctorum, p. 191.

His festival is set down in O'Clery's Irish Ca-
lendar at 2nd October, and again at 26th Oc-
tober. His church of Letracha is referred to,
in the Feilire-Aenguis, at 27th October, as in
the territory of Muscraighe-Thire.

1 Cluain-Eraird : i. e. Erard's Lawn or Mea-
dow. Erard or Irard was a man's proper name,
very common amongst the ancient Irish, signi-
fying lofty or noble :

" Erard idem quod nobilis altus vel eximius.
Erat autem hoc nomen inter Hibernos olim non
infrequens, ut patet ex illo a quo Cluain Eraird
nomen accepii." — Colgan's Acta Sanctorum,
p. 28, not. 4.

Colgan has published all that is known of
this tutor of the Irish saints in his Acta Sancto-
rum, at 23rd February, where he shews that he
lived till the year 563. His festival is set down
at 12th of December in the Feilire-Aenguis, in
which he is called Finnia; and in O'Clery's Irish
Calendar, in which the following notice of him
is given :

" St. Finnen, abbot of Clonard, ' son of Finn-
logh, son of Fintan, of the Clanna-Eudhraighe.
Sir James Ware calls him Finian or Finan, son
of Fintan (placing the grandfather in place of
the father). He was a philosopher and an emi-
nent-divine, who first founded the College of

2

Clonard, in Meath, near the Boyne, where there
were one hundred Bishops, and where, with
great care and labour, he instructed many cele-
brated saints, among whom were the two Kie-
rans, the two Brendans, the two Columbs, viz.,
Columbkille and Columb Mac Crimhthainn,
Lasserian, son of Nadfraech, Canice, Mobheus,
Rodanus, and many others not here enumerated.
His school was, in quality, a holy city, full of
wisdom and virtue, according to the writer of
his life, and he himself obtained the name of
Finnen the Wise. He died on the 1 2th of De-
cember, in the year of our Lord 552, or, ac-
cording to others, 563, and was buried in his
own church at Clonard."

* Inis-Ceahra — An island in the north-west
of Loch Deirgdheirc, now Lough Derg, near
the village of Scariff, in the county of Clare. It
formerly belonged to Kinel-Donnghaile, the ter-
ritory of the O'Gradys, in Thomond, or the
county of Clare, but is now considered a part
of the county of Gal way.

" Colum of Inis-Cealtra" is also mentioned in
the Annals of Ulster as dying of the Mortalitas
magna in 548, and in the Annals of Clonmac-
noise, at 550, as dying of the great pestilence
called " The Boye Conneall;" but the Editor has
not been able to discover any further account
of him.
B2

188

[550.

Chonaill,-) ba hipiDe an cheo bui&e Chonmll, acbacpac na naoirh pn, ace
Ciapan •] djfpnach.

bap Garach, mic Connlo, pf£ Ula6, a quo Ui Gacac Ula6.— Uijfpnac.

Goip Cpiopc, cuig ceo caocca. Q Do Decc Do Oiapmaicc. OauiD mac
Uf popannam, eppcop Qpoa TTlacha, -] Cegaicc na hGpeann uile, DO

ecc.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo caocca a haon. G cpi Decc Do Oiapmaicc.
8. Neapan Lobap Decc. peapgna, mac Qongupa, pi UlaD, Do mapbaD hi
ccach Opoma cleice la Oeman, mac Caipill, -| la hUib Gachach nGpoa.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceD caocca a Do. Q cfcap Decc Do Oiapmaicc.
6accluip bfnDcaip DO pochujaD la Comjall bfnocaip. peip Ufrhpa DO
Dfnam la pij Gpeann, Oiapmaicr, mac pfpgupa Ceppbeoil. TTIapbab Col-
main TTioip, mic Oiapmara, ina cappar la Oubploir hUa Upfna DO Chpuic-
neacoib.

b Croti-ChonaiU. — This is translated Flava
Ictericia, the yellow jaundice, by Colgan. — Acta
Sanctorum, p. 831, col. 2 : " Mortalitate Cron-
chonnuill (id est flava ictericia) appellata, hi
omnes sancti, prater S. Kieranum et S. Tiger-
nachum extincti sunt."

c Ulidia. — The Editor shall henceforward use
Ulidia for Uladh, when it denotes the portion of
the province of Uladh, or Ulster, lying east of
the Eiver Bann, and Gleann-Righe, to distin-
guish it from the whole province.

d Ui-Eathach- Uladh : i. e. nepotes Eochodii
Ulidiae. These were the inhabitants of the ba-
ronies of Iveagh, in the county of Down See

Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down and Connor and
Dromore, by the Rev. Wm. Reeves, M.B., pp. 348
to 352.

' Guaire. — In the old translation of the An-
nals of Ulster, this passage is given as follows :

" A. D. 550. Qfiies Davidis filii Guaire I-Fo-
rannain Episcopi Ardmache et Legati totius Hi-
bernice."

But Dr. O'Conor says that "Legati totius Hi-
bernice" is not to be found in any of the Irish
copies of the Ulster Annals. — See Colgan's Trias

Thaum,, p. 293 ; and Harris Ware's Bishops, p. 38.

' Neasan, the leper. — This is Nessan, the patron
saint of Mungret, near Limerick, whose festival

was celebrated on the 25th of July See Vita

Tripartita, S. Patricii, part iii. c. 62 ; Trias
Thaum., p 157, 185- The death of Nesan, the
Leper, is given, in the Annals of Clonmacnoise,
under the year 561.

s Druim- Cleithe — This was probably the name
of the place on which the church of Cill-cleithe,
or Kilclief, in the barony of Lecale, and county
of Down, was afterwards built. This entry is
given in the Annals of Clonmacnoise under the
year 561.

h Ui-Eathach- Arda: i. e. nepotes Eochodii of
Ardes, in the county of Down.

1 Bennchair — Now Bangor, in the north of
the barony of Ards, in the county of Down.
The erection of this church is entered in the
Annals of Ulster under the years 554and 558 :
" Ecclesia Bennchuir fundata est." Ussher ap-
proves of the latter date in his Chronological
Index ; and the Annals of Clonmacnoise men-
tion the erection of the Abbey of Beanchoir
under the year 561.

550.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

189

Chonaillb, — and that was the first Buidhe-Chonaill, — these saints died, except
Ciaran and Tighearnach.

The death of Eochaidh, son of Connlo, King of Ulidiac, from whom are the
Ui-Eathach-Uladhd.— Tighernach.

The Age of Christ, 550. The twelfth year of Diarmaid. David, son of
Guaire" Ua Forannain, Bishop of Ard-Macha [Armagh] and Legate of all Ire-
land, died.

The Age of Christ, 551. The thirteenth year of Diarmaid. St. Neasan, the
leperf, died. Feargna, son of Aenghus, King of Ulidia, was slain in the battle
of Druim-cleitheg, by Deman, son of Caireall, and by the Ui-Eathach- Arda".

The Age of Christ, 552. The church of Bennchar' was founded by Comh-
gall of Beannchar. The feast of Teamhaii0 was made by the King of Ireland,
Diarmaid, son of Fearghus Ceirbheoil. The killing of Colman Mor", son of
Diarmaid, in his chariot, by Dubhshlat Ua Treana, [one] of the Cruithni1.

Under this year (552) the Annals of Ulster
contain a curious notice of the discovery of St.
Patrick's relics by St. Columbkille. It is given
as follows in the old English translation :

" A. D. 552. The reliques of St. Patrick
brought by Columbkille to" [a] "shrine 60
yeares after his death. Three precious swearing
reliques" [cpi minna uaiple] "were found in
the tombe, viz., the relique Coach, the Angell's
Gospell, and the bell called Clog uidhechta.
The angell thus shewed to Columbkille how to
divide these, viz., the Coach to Down, the bell
to Armagh, and the Gospell to Columbkille
himself; and it is called the Gospell of the
Angell, because Columbkille received it at the
Angell's hand."

> The feast of Teamhair — " A. D. 567. Cena
Temra la Diarmait mac Cearbhail." — Ann. Ult.
edit. O'Conor.

" A. D. 567. The Feast of Tarach by Dermott
mac Cerbail." — Cod. Claren., torn. 49.

" A. D. 569. Feis Temhra la Diarmait."—
O'Conor's Edit.

k Colman Mor. — He was the second son of

King Diarmaid, and the ancestor of the Clann-
Colmain of Meatb. His death is entered twice
in the Annals of Ulster, first under the year
554, and again under 557:

" A. D. 554. Colman Mor mac Diarmata Derg,
mic Fergusa Cerbeoil, mic Conaill Cremthaine,
mic Neill Naigiallaig, quern Dubsloit jugulavit."

" A. D. 557. Jugtdatio Colmain Mor, mic
Diarmata, quern Dubsloit juguiavit."

In the Annals of Clonmacnoise his death is
entered under the year 561 :

"A. D. 561. Colman More, sone of King
Dermott, was killed in his Coache" [in curru
suo TighernacK], " by Duffslat O'Treana."

1 Cruithni : i. e. the inhabitants of Dal-
Araidhe, who were called Cruithni, i. e. Picts,
as being descended from Loncada, the daughter
of Eochaidh Eichbheoil of the Cruithni, or Picts
of North Britain. — See Adamnan's Vita Columbia,
lib. i. c. 36; O'Flaherty's Ogygia, iii. c. 18;
Lib. Lee. fol. 194, a ; Ginm ele oo t)al Qpaibe
.1. Cpuirne. Duald Mac Firbis — See also
Reeves's Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down and
Connor, fyc., p. 337.

190

[553.

Ctoip Cpiopr, cuij ceo caocca a cpi. Q cuij Decc Do Oiapmaicc. Clccfp
bpeanainn bioppa 05 ool i poch ipin aiep an bliaDain pi. Cluain pfpca Do
pochujaD la naom bpenamn.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo caoja a cfcaip. Qn peipeao bliaDain Decc Do
Oiapmaicc. S. Cachub, mac pfpjupa, abb CtchaiD cinn, Decc 6. Qppil.
Caocca ap ceo bliaDain poD a paojjail.

peip oe&eanach Ueampa Do 6fnam la Oiapmaicc, pigh Gpeann.

Cupnan, mac Ctooha, mic Gachach Uiopmcapna, .1. mac pij Connachc Do
:6 la Oiapmaicc, mac Cfpbaill, cap planaib ~\ comaipje Coluim Cille,

curious little fable of him, from which, if it be
not pure fiction, it might be inferred that he
had a most exquisite ear for music. Fourteen
years before his death, according to this fable,
he -was visited, one day after mass and sermon,
by St. Michael the Archangel, who continued
to sing heavenly music for him for twenty-four
hours: after which Brendan could never enjoy,
and never condescended to listen to any earthly
music, except one Easter Sunday, when he per-
mitted a student of his people to play for him
on his harp. He endured him with difficulty ;
but, giving him his blessing, he procured two
balls of wax, which he put into his ears when-
ever he came within hearing of earthly music,
and in this manner he shut out all human me-
lody, (which to him was discord) for nearly
fourteen years, and admitted the harmonies of
the angels only.

Under this year (553) the Annals of Ulster,
Tighernach, and Clonmacnoise, record the ex-
istence of a plague called Samhtrusc, which is
translated " Lepra."

" A. D. 553. Pestis que vocata est inSamthrosc,
i. e. Lepra." — Ann. Ult. edit. 0' Conor.

" A. D. 553. Pestis que vocata est Samthrusc
.i. the Leprosy." — Cod. Claren., torn. 49

" A. D. 551. This year there grew a sickness
called a Sawthrusc." — Ann. Clon.

0 Achadh-cinn — Colgan thinks that this may
be Achadh-na-cille, in Dalriada (Trias Thaum.,

m Brenainn ofBirra: i. e. St. Brendan of Birr,
now Parsonstown. The ascension of St. Bren-
dan is entered under the year 562, in the An-
nals of Clonmacnoise, as follows :

" A. D. 562. The ascension of St. Brandon of
Birr to the skies, in his chariot or coache."

" Cluain-fearta : i. e. the Lawn, Meadow, or
Bog-Island of the Grave, now Clonfert, in the
barony of Longford, and county of Longford.
The Annals of Ulster record the erection of the
church of Cluainferta, under the years 557 and
564 ; the Annals of Clonmacnoise, under the
year 562, as follows :

" A. D. 557 vel 564. Brendinus Ecdesiam in
Cluainferta fundavit." — Ann. Ult.

"A.D. 562. St. Brandon, Abbot, founded
the church of Clonfert." — Ann. Clon.

These saints should not be confounded. Bren-
din of Birr was the son of Neman, of the race of
Corb olum, son of Fergus, and his festival was

celebrated on the 29th of November See

Adamnan's Vita Columbce, lib. iii. c. 3. St.
Brendan, first Bishop of Clonfert, was the son
of Finnlogha, of the race of Ciar, son of Fergus,
and his festival was celebrated on the 16th of
May. These two saints were contemporaries
and companions. It is said that Brendan of
Clonfert sailed for seven years in the western
ocean, "de cujus septennali navigatione prodi-
gios£e feruntur fabulfe." — Ussher, Primord.,
p. 955. In O'Clery's Irish Calendar is given a

553.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

191

The Age of Christ, 553. The fifteenth year of Diarmaid. Brenainn of
Birram was seen ascending in a chariot into the sky this year. Cluain-fearta"
was founded by St. Brenainn.

The Age of Christ, 554. The sixteenth year of Diarmaid. St. Cathub,
son of Fearghus, Abbot of Achadh-cinn0, died on the 6th of April. One hun-
dred and fifty years was the length of his life.

The last feast of Teamhairp was made by Diarmaid, King of Ireland.

Curnan", son of Aedh, son of Eochaidh Tirmcharna, i. e. the son of the King
of Connaught, was put to death by Diarmaid, son of Cearbhall, in violation of

p. 1 82), now Aughnakilly, a part of the town-
land of Craigs, in the barony of Kilconway, and
county of Antrim, and on the road from Aho-
ghill to Easharkin. See Reeves's Ecclesiastical
Antiquities of Down and Connor, fyc., p. 89, note
n, and p. 322. In the Irish Calendar of O'Clery
the festival of St. Cathub, son of Fearghus, bi-
shop of Achadh-cinn, is set down at 6th April.
In the Annals of Ulster, ad ann. 554, he is
called " Cathal mac Fergusa Episcopus Achid-
cinn."

f The last feast of Teamhair. — Tighernach
states that three years after the killing of Colman
Mor, son of Diarmaid, A. D. 560, the " Cena
postrema" of Temhair was celebrated by Diar-
maid mac Cearbaill.

The feast of Teamhair, by Diarmaid, and the
death of Gabhran, son of Domhangart, is entered
twice in the Annals of Ulster, first under the
year 567, and again under the year 569-

The royal palace of Teamhair or Tara was
soon after deserted in consequence of its having
been cursed by St. Rodanus, of Lothra or Lorha,
in Lower Ormond, county Tipperary, as stated
at some length in the Annals of Clonmacnoise,
translated by Mageoghegan ; also in an Irish
manuscript in the Library of Trinity College,
Dublin, H. 1. 15; and in the Life of St. Roda-
nus, preserved in the Codex Kilkenniensis, in
Marsh's Library, Class V. 3, Tab. 1, No. 4, F. ;
and in the Life of this saint published by the

Bollandists, at XXV. April — See Fetrie's His-
tory and Antiquities of Tara Hill, pp. 101-103.
This malediction of Rodanus, with the conse-
quent desertion of the place as a royal residence,
is referred to by the ancient scholiast on Fiaeh's
Hymn in the Life of St. Patrick, preserved in
the Liber Hymnorurn ; and an ancient Icelandic
work called the Konungs-Skuggsio, or Royal
Mirror, states that it had been abandoned and
utterly destroyed, in revenge of an unjust
judgment pronounced by a king who had once
ruled over it. — See Johnstone's Antiq. Cetio-
Scand., p. 287, et seqq.*

After this desertion of Tara, each monarch
chose for himself a residence most convenient
or agreeable, which was usually within their
own hereditary principalities. Thus the kings
of the northern Ui-Neill resided chiefly at their
ancient fortress of Aileach, in the barony of
Inishowen, near Derry ; and those of the south-
ern Ui-Neill, first at Dun-Torgeis, near Castle-
pollard, in Westmeath, and afterwards at Dun-
na-Sgiath, at the north-western margin of Loch-
Ainnin or Lough Ennell, near Mullingar.

q Curnan — This is entered in the Annals of
Clonmacnoise at the year 562. " Cornan mac
Eahagh Tyrmcarna was killed by King Der-
mot." — See O'Donnell's Vita Columbce, lib. ii.
c. 2, in Trias Thaum., p. 400, for some curious
particulars about Curnan's death and the battle
of Cul-Dreiinhne.

192

[555.

mp na cappamg 50 hainoeonach ap a lamoib, conao 6 pochann carha Cula
Opeirhne.

Qoip Cpiopr, cuig ceo caogace a cuig. Qn peaccmaD Oecc Do Oiapmaic.
Cach Cula Opfimne DO bpipfo pop Oiapmainc, mac Cfpbaill, ta peapjup -]
la Dorhnall, Da mac TTluipcfpcaij, mic 6apcca, la hCtinmipe, mac Sfona, -]
la ndmoioh, mac Duach, -\ la hdoD, mac Gachac Uiopmcapna, pi Connachr.
hi ccionaiD mapbrlia Cupnain, mic Cto6a, mic Gacac Uiopmcapna, pop pao-
parii Coloim Cille, DO pacpac Clanna Nell an cuaipceipc -| Connachca an
each pin Cula Opfimne Don pi^, Do Oiapmaic,-] beopimon cclaoinbpeic puce

r Cul-Dreimhne. — This place is in the barony
of Carbury, to the north of the town of Sligo.
Colgan has the following note upon this place,
Trias Thaum., p. 452 :

" Culdremhni. Est locus hie in regione Car-
brise in Connacia, non procul a Sligoensi oppido
versus Aquilonem situs. Historiam hujus prae-
lii fuse enarrat Ketennus libro 2 de Eegibus Hi-
berni», in gestis Diermitii Regis. Praslium hoc
non anno 551, ut scribunt Quatuor Magistri in
Annalibus, sed anno 561, commissuua fuit, ut
tradunt Annales Ultonienses, et Usserus de
Primordiis Ecclesiar. Britann., p. 694."

' The sentence. — A circumstantial account is
given of this literary larceny of St. Columb-
kille, in O'Donnell's Life of that Saint, lib. ii.
c. i. King Diarmaid, after hearing the learned
arguments of plaintiff and defendant, pro-
nounced his decision that the copy made by
Columbkille should belong to Finnen's original,
in the same way as, among tame and domestic
animals, the brood belongs to the owner of the
dam or mother, "partus sequitur ventrem."

" Cauta utrinque audita Rex, seu partium
rationes male pensans, seu in alteram privato
affectu magis propendens, pro Finneno senten-
tiam pronuntiat, et sententiam ipse Hibernico
versu abinde in hunc usque diem inter Hibernos
famoso in hunc modum expressit : Le gach boin
a boinin, acus le gach leabhar a leabhran, id est,
Buculus est matris libri suus esto libellus." —

Trias Thaum., p. 409.

Columbkille, who seems to have been more
liberal and industrious in circulating the writ-
ten Scriptures than Finnen, had pleaded before
the King, that he had not in the slightest de-
gree injured St. Finnen's manuscript by tran-
scribing it ; and that Finnen should not for any
reason oppose the multiplying of the Scriptures
for the instruction of the people. His words
are as follows, as translated by Colgan :

" Fateor," inquit, " librum de quo controver-
titur, ex Finneni codice exscriptum; sed per
me meaque industria, labore, vigiliis exscriptus
est; et ea cautela exscriptus, ut proprius Fin-
neni liber in nullo factus sit ea exscriptione
deterior ; eo fine, ut qua? prseclara in alieno
codice repereram, securius ad meum usum re-
conderem, et commodius in alios ad Dei gloriam
derivarem: proinde nee me Finneno injurium,
nee restitutioni obnoxium, nee culpa? cujus-
quam in hac parte reum agnosco ; ut qui sine
cujuspiam damno, multorum consului spiritali
commodo, quod nemo debuit, aut juste potuit
impedire."

Shortly after this King Diarmaid forced Cur-
nan, the son of the King of Connaught, from
the arms of Columbkille, to whom he had fled
for protection, and put him instantly to death.
Columbkille, exasperated at these insults, said
to the King : " I will go unto my brethren, the
Races of Connell and of Eoghan, and I will give

555.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF UPLAND.

193

the guarantee and protection of Colum Cille, having been forcibly torn from
his hands, which was the cause of the battle of Cul-Dreimhne.

The Age of Christ, 555; The seventeenth year of Diarmaid. The battle
of Cul-Dreimhner was gained against Diarmaid, son of Cearbhall, by Fearghus
and Domhnall, the two sons of Muircheartach, son of Earca ; by Ainmire, son
of Sedna ; and by Ainnidh, son of Duach ; and by Aedh, son of Eochaidh Tirm-
charna, King of Connaught. [It was] in revenge of the killing of Curnan, son
of Aedh, son of Eochaidh Tirmcharna, [while] under the protection of Colum
Cille, the Clanna-Neill of the North and the Connaughtmen gave this battle of
Cul-Dreimhne to King Diarmaid ; and also on account of the false sentence1

thee battle in revenge for this unjust judgment
thou hast given against me respecting the book,
and in revenge for the killing of the son of the
King of Connaught, while under my protec-
tion." Then the King commanded that not one
of the men of Ireland should convey Columb-
kille out of the palace, or join him. Columb
then proceeded to Monasterboice, and remained
there for one night. In the morning he was
informed that the King had sent a force to in-
tercept his passage into Ulster, and take him
prisoner. Columbkille, therefore, went over a
solitary part of Sliabh Breagh, and as he passed
along, he composed the poem beginning " tnai-
nupan Dam if in pliab," which has been printed
in the Miscellany of the Irish Archaeological
Society, pp. 3 to 15. When he arrived in Ulster
he applied to his relatives, the northern Ui-
Neill, who entered into his feelings of revenge
against the Monarch who threatened to overrun
their territories with fire and sword. They
mustered their forces, to the number of 3000
men, and being joined by the Connaughtmen,
came to a pitched battle with the Monarch at
Cul-Dreimhne, in the barony of Carbury, in the
county of Sligo, where the Monarch, who had
a force of 2300 charioteers, cavalry, and pedes-
trians, was defeated with terrible slaughter

See Ussher's Primordia, pp. 902-904, where he

gives an account of this battle from an unpub-
lished manuscript of Adamnan's Vita Colunibce.

After this battle the Monarch and Saint
Columb made peace, and the copy of the book
made from St. Finnen's manuscript was left to
him. This manuscript, which is a copy of the
Psalter, was ever after known by the name of
Cathach. It was preserved for ages in the family
of O'Donnell, and has been deposited in the Mu-
seum of the Eoy al Irish Academy, by Sir Eichard
O'Donnell, its present owner. — See note b, under
A. D. 1497, pp. 1232, 1233.

Mr. Moore states, in his History of Ireland,
vol. i. p. 243, that " it has been shewn satisfac-
torily that there are no- grounds for this story ;
and that though, for some venial and unimpor-
tant proceedings, an attempt had been made to
excommunicate him [St. Columbkille] before
his departure from Ireland, the account of his
quarrel with the Monarch is but an ill con-
structed fable, which, from the internal evidence
of its inconsistencies, falls to pieces of itself."

The Editor cannot acquiesce in this opinion,
for, whatever may be the defect of construction
in the fabulous narrative, it is very clear that
this special pleading is not sufficient to acquit
St. Columbkille of the crime of having roused
his relatives to fight this battle. Adamnan
refers to it in the seventh chapter of the first

C

194

uioghacnca

[555.

Oiapmaic ap Colom Cille im liubap pmoen po pcpiob Colom Cille gan
parhujab opmoen, Dia noeacpac i peip nOiapmaca, 50 po coiccfpcaib Oiap-
maic an mbpeich noippbeipc, la ^ach bom a boinin, Tpa. Colam Cille po pdiD,

a Dm, cia nach Dinsbai an cm, oup mfpmaip mfp a lin,

Qn cpluag DO boing beacha Dm,

Sluaj DO ching hi cimcel capn,

Qp mac ampche no Dap maipn,

Qpe mo Dpui, nfm epa, mac Oe ap ppim consena.

dp dlainn pfpup alluaD gobap baooam pep an cplua j,

PO la baocan puilc buibe, bena a hGpen puippe.

Ppaochan, mac Uenupain, ap 6 DO pijne mD epbhe nopuaoh Do Oiapmaic.
Uuachan, mac Dimmam, mic Sapam, mic Copbmaic, mic Gojain, a pe po la
mo epbe nopuab Dap a cfnD. Upf mile cpa ipeaoh copchaip Do mumnp
Diapmaoa. Qompeap namct ippeaD copcaip Don Ifir naill, TTlajldim a amm,
ap ip e po chmj cap an eipbe nopnaD.

book of his Life of St. Columba ; but as this
biographer's object was to write a panegyric,
not an impartial character, of his relative and
patron, it is very evident that he did not wish
to dwell upon any particulars respecting the
causes of this battle. Adamnan, however, ac-
knowledges (lib. iii. c. 3), that Columba was
excommunicated by an Irish synod ; and other
writers of great antiquity, cited by Tighernach,
and in the Liber Hymnorum, have, with great
simplicity, handed down to us the real cause of
Columbkille's departure from Ireland. These
accounts, it is true, may possibly be fabulous ;
but it is not fair to assume this on account of
Adamnan's silence ; and that they are ancient,
and the written traditions of the country of Tir-
connell, in which Columbkille was born, is evi-
dent from the Life compiled by O'Dounellin 1520,
from manuscripts then so old that (as appears
from his original manuscript in the Bodleian
Library) he deemed it necessary to modernize
the language in which they were written.

St. Cumian, the oldest writer of Columbkille's
Life, makes no allusion to the battle of Cuil-

Dreimhne ; but his work is a panegyric, not a
biography, of this saint ; and the same may be
said of Adamnan's production, which is an enu-
meration of his miracles and visions, and not a
regular biography; and it is fair to remark,
that, even if Adamnan had written a regular
biography, he could not, unless by inadver-
tence, have mentioned one fact which would,
in the slightest degree stain the character of
his hero with any sort of crime. The bards
and lay writers, on the other hand, who did
not understand the nature of panegyric, as
well as Cumian and Adamnan, have represented
Columbkille as warlike, which • they regarded
as praiseworthy, for it implied that he possessed
the characteristics of his great ancestors, Niall
Naighiallach and Conall Gulban ; and these, in
their rude simplicity, have left us more mate-
rials for forming a true estimate of his charac-
ter than are supplied by the more artful de-
scriptions of his miracles and visions by Cu-
mian and Adamnan. The latter, in his second
preface, has the following account of Columb's
going to Scotland:

555.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 1Q5

which Diarmaid passed against Colum Cille about a book of Finnen, which
Colum had transcribed without the knowledge of Finnen, when they left it to
award of Diarmaid, who pronounced the celebrated decision, " To every cow
belongs its calf," &c. Colum Cille said :

0 God, wilt thou not drive off the fog, which envelopes our number,

The host which has deprived us of our livelihood,

The host which proceeds around the earns* !

He is a son of storm who betrays us.

My Druid, — he will not refuse me, — is the Son of God, and may he side with me;

How grandly he bears his course, the steed of Baedan" before the host ;

Power by Baedan of the yellow hair will be borne from Ireland on him [the steed].

Fraechanw, son of Teniusan, was he who made the Erbhe-Druadh for Diar-
maid. Tuathan, son of Dimman, son of Saran, son of Cormac, son of Eoghan,
was he who placed the Erbhe Druadh over his head. Three thousand was the
number that fell of Diarmaid's people. One man only fell on the other side,
Mag Laim was his name, for it was he that passed beyond the Erbhe Druadh".

" Sanctus igitur Columba nobilibus fuerat occupatus, ut supra humanam possibilitatem

oriundus genitalibus" [i. e. genitoribus] : "pa- uniuscuj usque pondus specialis videretur operis.

trem habens Fedilmitium, filium Ferguso ; Et inter hsee omnibus charus, hilarem semper

Matrem vero Ethneam nomine, cujus pater faciem ostendens sanctam Spiritus sancti gaudio

latine Filius Navis dici potest, Scotica vero intimis laetificabatur pra3cordiis."-Tna*21AaK«.,

lingua Mac Nave. Hie anno secundo post p. 337.

Cul-Drebtince bellum, aetatis vero suse xlii. de ' Around the earns This seems to suggest

Scotia ad Britanniam, pro Christo peregrinari that the monarch's people were pagans.

volens, enavigavit ; qui et a puero, Christiano " Baedan He was the third son of the Mo-

deditus tyrocinio, et sapientia; studiis inte- narch, Muircheartach Mor Mac Earca, and

gritatem corporis et animse puritatem, Deo became Monarch of Ireland jointly with his

donante, custodiens, quamvis in terra positus, nephew, Eochaidh, in the year 566.
ccelestibus se aptum moribus ostendebat. Erat w Fraechan. — In the account of this battle,

enim aspectu Angelicus, sermone nitidus, opere preserved in the Leabhar-Buidhe of the Mac

sanctus, ingenio optimus, consilio magnus, per Firbises of Lecan, in the Library of Trinity

annos xxxiv., insulanus miles conversatus. College, Dublin, H. 2. 16, p. 873, Fraechan,

Nullum etiam unius horee intervallum tran- son of Tenisan, is called the Druid of King

sire poterat, quo non aut orationi, aut lectioni, Diarmaid, and the person who- made the Airbhi

vel scriptioni, vel etiam alicui operationi jeju- Druadh, or druidical charm [aipbe .1. amm

nationum quoque et vigiliarum indefessis labo- aipbe — O'Clery] between the two armies,

ribus sine ulla intennissione die noctuque ita * That passed beyond the Erbhe Druadh In

2 c2

196

[556.

Qoip Cpiopc, 0(115 ceo caogac a p 6. Q hochc oecc Do Oiapmairc. Cac
Chuile huinnpenn i cCeacba, pop Oiapmaicc, pia nQooli, mac mbpeanainn,
caoipioc Ueacba, -\ po meabaio pop Oiapmaic a hionao an lomaipecc.

Goip Cpiopr, cuig ceo caogac a peachc. Cf naoi oecc oo Oiapmaic.
8. becc mac Oe, paioh oippDepc, Oecc. Colom Cille DO Dol mD Qlbain 50
po pochaib mpurh ecclup, -] ap uaoh ainmnijcep. 8. Gooh O piachpach

O'Donnell's Life of St. Columbkille, as trans-
lated by Colgan, it is stated that only one man
of Columbkille's people fell in this battle, who
had passed beyond the prescribed limits, " qui
prefixes pugnse limites temere transiliit." But
this is intentionally suppressing the reference to
theAirbhe Druadh, because Colgan did not wish
to acknowledge the existence of Druidism in
Ireland, so long after the arrival of St. Patrick.
Dr. O'Conor, on the other hand, mistranslates
this passage, obviously with a view to shew that
Diarmaid had many Druids at the time; but
O'Conor's knowledge of the language of these
Annals was so imperfect that he is scarcely
worthy of serious criticism. His translation
of the above passage is as follows :

" Fraochanus filius Tenussani fuit qui per-
suasit expulsionem Druidum Regi Diarmitio.
Tuathanus filius Dimmani, filii Sarani, filii Cor-
maci, filii Eogani, fuit qui admonuit expulsio-
nem Druidum postea. Tria millia circiter fuere
qui occisi sunt de gente Diarmitii. Unus solus
occisus est ex altera parte, Maglamuis ejus
nomen. Nam is fuit qui impedivit quin expel-
lerentur Druidse."— pp. 161, 162.

The absolute incorrectness of this translation
will be seen at a glance by any one who is
acquainted with the meaning of the Irish noun,
eipbe, or aipbe, carmen, and of the verb, po
chmj, transiliit. It will be observed that the
Christian writer gives the Airbhe Druadh its
own magical power (i. e. a power derived from
the Devil); for though Columbkille's prayers
were able to preserve his forces while they

remained within their own limits, the indivi-
dual who passed beyond the consecrated limits
described by the saint, into the vortex of the
magical circle of the Druid, immediately lost
his life.

J Cuil- Uinnsenn : i. e. the Corner or Angle of
the Ash Trees. The Editor has not been able
to find any name like this in Teffia. Aedh, chief
of Teffia, is mentioned in the Life of St. Berach,
published by Colgan, Ada SS., p. 342, c. 14,
and in note 20, p. 347, in which Colgan is
wrong in making Teffia the same as the county
Longford. According to Mageoghegan's Annals
of Clonmacnoise, this Aedh or " Hugh mac Bre-
nan, king of Teaffa, gave St. Columbkille the
place where the church of Dorowe" [Durrow]
" stands."

z Bee, son of De : i. e. Bee, son of Deaghaidh
or Dagaeus. Colgan translates this entry :
" A. D. 557. S. Beccus cognomento Mac De
Celebris propheta, obiit." — Ada SS., p. 192.
The death of this saint is entered twice in the
Annals of Ulster; first under the year 552, and
again under 557. The following notice of him
is given in the Annals of Clonmacnoise at the
year 550 :

" A. D. 550. The prophet, Beg mac De, began
his prophesies. He prophesied that Lords would
lose their chiefries and seigniories, and that men
of little estates and lands would lose their lands,
because they should be thought little ; and lastly,
that there should come great mortality of men,
which would begin in Ffanaid, in Ulster, called
the Swippe of Fanaid (Scuub Panaio)."

556.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

197

The Age of Christ, 556. The eighteenth year of Diarmaid. The battle
of Cuil-Uinnsenny, in Teathbha, [was fought] against Diarmaid, by Aedh, son
of Breanainn, chief of Teathbha ; and Diarmaid was routed from the field of
battle.

The Age of Christ, 557. The nineteenth year of Diarmaid. St. Bee, son
of Dez, a celebrated prophet, died. Colum Cille went to Scotland, where he
afterwards founded a church, which was named from him". St. Aedhan

• Named from him. — This was I-Columbkille
or lona. St. Columbkille, after he had excited
his relatives to fight the king at Cul-Dreimhne,
in 560, was excommunicated by a synod of
the Irish clergy (as Adamnan inadvertently
acknowledges, to introduce an angelic vision,
in lib. iii. c. 3) ; after which he appears to have
been in bad odour with the Irish clergy till 562,
when the Annals record the " Na.vigai.io S. Co-
lumbce de Hibernia ad insulam Ice, anno etatis
sue xlii." His success in converting the Picts,
however, shed round him a lustre and a glory
which dispelled the dark clouds which had
previously obscured his fame as a saint ; and
his own relatives, Cumian and Adamnan, bla-
zoned his virtues so ably, after the fashion of
their age, that they established his sanctity in
despite of all the aspersions of his rivals and
enemies. From all the accounts handed down
to us of this remarkable man, it would appear
that he was a most zealous and efficient preacher
of Christian morality, and an industrious tran-
scriber of the Four Gospels, and of portions of
the Old Testament. Venerable Bede gives a
brief sketch of his history, in his Ecclesias-
tical History, lib. iii. c. 4 (Giles's translation,
p. 112), and observes that "some writings. of
his life and discourses are said to be preserved
by his disciples." " But," adds this most cau-
tious writer, who evidently had heard some
stories about Columba's conduct in Ireland,
" whatsoever he was himself, this we know for
certain, that he left successors renowned for

their continency, their love of God, and ob-
servance of monastic rules. It is true they
followed uncertain rules in their observance
of the great festival, as having none to bring
them the synodal decrees for the observance of
Easter, by reason of their being so far away
from the rest of the world ; wherefore, they
only practised such works of piety and chastity
as they could learn from the prophetical, evan-
gelical, and apostolical writings. This manner
of keeping Easter continued among them for
the space of 150 yekrs, till the year of our
Lord's incarnation, 715."

In the Annals of Clonmacnoise the translator,
Connell Mageoghegan, has inserted the following
curious observation on the belief then in Ireland
respecting the peculiar property of St. Columb-
kille's manuscripts, in resisting the influence of
water :

" He wrote 300 books with his own hand.
They were all new Testaments; left a book to
each of his churches in the kingdom, which
books have a strange property, which is, that if
they, or any of them, had sunk to the bottom
of the deepest waters, they would not lose one
letter, or sign, or character of them, which I
have seen tried, partly, myself of [on] that
book of them which is at Dorowe, in the King's
county ; for I saw the ignorant man that had the
same in his custodie, when sickness came on cat-
tle, for their remedy, put water on the book and
suffer it to rest therein ; and saw also cattle re-
turn thereby to their former state, and the book

198

[557.

065. Cach mono Ooipe lochaip pop Cpuichniu pia nUib Nell an ruapceipr,
.1. pia cCenel cConaill-] Goghain, on i ccopcpaoap peachc ccaoipij Cpuic-
nfch im Ctooli mbpfcc,-] ap oon cup pom DO pocaip oopioipi na Lee ; -] Capn
oo clcmooib Nell an cuaipceipc. Ceannpaolab po paioh int>po

Sinpic paebpa, pinpic pip, in TTioin mop Doipe lochaip,

Gobaip componna nac cfpc, peace pijh Cpuichne im Qo6 mbpfcc.

piccip each Cpuicne nuile, acup poploipccep 6lne,

pichcip each ^abpa Lippe, acup each Guile Opeirhne.

to receive no loss." Superstitions of this kind
have probably been the destruction of many of
our ancient books.

11 St. Aedhan 0' Fiachrach. — " A. D. 569 al.
562. Aedan Ua Fiachrach obiit." — Ann. Ult.

' Moin-Doire-lothair — Adamnan calls this the
battle of Moin-mor, as does Ceannfaeladh in the
verses here quoted by the Four Masters. Dr.
O'Conor places the field of this battlein Scotland,
in his edition of the Annals of Ulster, p. 23,
n. 2, but by a mere oversight, for he seems to
have been well aware that, by Scotia, Adamnan
always meant Ireland. Colgan places it " in
finibus Aquilonaris Hiberniffi." — Trias Thaum.,
p. 374. The Rev. Mr. Reeves thinks that both
names are still preserved in Moneymore, a town
in the county of Londonderry, and Uerryloran,
the parish in which it is situated. — See his
Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down and Connor, fyc.,
p. 339- This, however, may admit of doubt,
as the former is called in Irish Muine-mor, i. e.
the Great Hill or Shrubbery, and the latter Doire-
Lorain, i. e. Loran's Oak Wood.

Adamnan's reference to this battle is as fol-
lows : " Post bellum Cul Drebene, sicuti nobis
traditum est, duobus transactis annis (quo tern-
pore vir beatus de Scotia peregrinaturus primi-
tus enavigavit) quadam die, hoc est, eadem hora,
qua in Scotia commissum est bellum quod Scotice
dicitur Mona-moire, idem homo Dei coram Co-
nallo Rege, filio Comgill in Britannia conver-

satus, per omnia enarravit, tarn de bello, quo-
rum propria vocabula Ainmerius filius Setni,
et duo filii Maic Erce, Donallus et Fergus. Sed
et de Rege Cruithniorum, qui Echodius Laib
vocabatur quemadmodum victus currui inse-
dens, evaserit; similiter sanctus prophetizavit."
— Vit. Columbce, lib. i. c. 7 ; Trias Thaum., p. 340.
d Cruithnigh. — These were the inhabitants of
Dalaradia, who were called Cruithnigh or Picts,
as being descended from a Pictish mother. Col-
gan translates this passage as follows in his Ada
Sanctorum, p. 374, not. 39, on the first book of
Adamnan's Vita Columbce: ->

" A. D. 557. Sanctus ColumbaKilleprofectus
est in Albanian! (id est Scotiam Albiensem) ubi
postea extruxit Ecclesiam Hiensem. Sanctus
Aidanus Hua Fiachrach obiit. Pra:lium de
Moin-mor juxta Doire-Lothair contra Cruthe-
nos (id est Pictos) commissum est per Nepotes
Neill Septentrionales, id est, per Kinel-Conaill
(hoc est, stirpem Conajli), Duce Anmirio filio
Sednse, et Kinel-Eoguin(id est, stirpem Eugenii)
Ducibus Donmaldo, et Fergussio, et filiis Mur-
chertachi, filii Ercse. In eo prselio occubuerunt
septern principes Crutheniorum (id est Picto-
rum) cum Aido Breco eorum Rege."

He remarks on this passage : " Habemus ergo
ex his Annalibus proelium illud commissum esse
eodem anno, quo sanctus Columba in Albanian!,
seu Britanniam venit, ut refert Sanctus Adam-
nanus in hoc capite, licet male annum 557 pro

557.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

199

O'Fiachrachb died. The battle of Moin-Doire-lothair° [was gained] over
the Cruithnighd, by the Ui-Neill of the North, i. e. by the Cinel-Conaill and
Cinel-Eoghain, wherein fell seven chieftains of the Cruithnigh, together with
Aedh Breac ; and it was on this occasion that the Leee and Carn-Eolairgf
were forfeited to the Clanna-Neill of the North. Ceannfaeladh composed the
following :

Sharp weapons were strewn, men were strewn, in TVEoin-mor-Doire-lothair,
Because of a partition* not just; the seven kings of the Cruithni, with Aedh

Breac, [were in the slaughter].

The battle of all the Cruithneh was fought, and Elne' was burned.
The battle of Gabhra-Liffe was fought, and the battle of Cul-Dreimhne.

563 posuerint." This battle is entered in the
Annals of Ulster under the years 561 and
562, thus in the old translation, Cod. Clarend.,
torn. 49 :

" A. D. 561, The battle of Moin-Doire."

" A. D. 562. The battle of Moin-Doire-Lo-
thair, upon the Cruhens by the Nells of the
North. Baedan mac Cin, with two of the Cru-
hens, fought it against the rest of the Cruhens.
The cattle and booty of the Eolargs" [rectc the
Lee and Ard Eolairg] " were given to them of
Tirconnell and Tirowen, conductors, for their
leading, as wages."

* The Lee: i. e. the territory of Fir-Lii or
Magh-Lii, in the barony of Coleraine, county of
Londonderry.

' Cam- Eolairg — See note % under the year
478, battle of Ocha, supra, p. 151. This place
is mentioned by Tirechan, as near Lee Bendrigi.
Colgan, in his notes on O'Donnell's Life of Co-
lumbkille, mentions Carraig Eolairg, as a place
in the diocese of Derry, " ad marginem Eurypi
Fevolii. — Trias Thaum., p. 450, n. 49.

e A partition — This seems to indicate that
the battle was fought in consequence of a dis-
pute about the partition of lands; but the
Editor has never met any detailed account of
this battle, or its causes. According to the

Annals of Ulster it was fought between the
Cruitheni themselves, the race of Niall assist-
ing one party of them for hire.

h The battle of all the Cruithni : i. e. the battle
in which all the Irish Cruitheni or Dalaradians
fought.

'Elne. — Dr. O'Conor translates this " pro-
fani," but nothing is more certain than that it
was the name of a plain situated between the
River Bann and the River Bush, in the north-
west of the present county of Antrim. The Bann,
i. e. the Lower Bann, is described in a very an-
cient poem, quoted by Dr. O'Conor, in his Prole-
gomena ad Annales, ii. p. 57, as flowing between
the plains of Lee and Eile or Eilne ; and Tire-
chan, in describing St. Patrick's journey east-
wards from Ard-Eolairg and Aileach, near
Derry, writes as follows :

" Et exiit in Ard-Eolairg, et Ailgi, et Lee
Bendrigi, et perrexit trans flumen Handle, et
benedixit locum in quo est cellola Guile Kaithin
in Eilniu, in quo fuit Episcopus, et fecit alias
cellas multas in Eilniu. Et per Buaa nuvium"
[the Bush] " foramen pertulit, et in Duin
Sebuirgi" [Dunseverick] " sedit super petram,
quam Petra Patricii usque nunc, &c."

Adamnan, speaking, in the fiftieth chapter of
the first book of his Vita Columbcq, of that saint's

200

[558.

beppar jialla lap ccon^al, ap p lap im cnuap nuach

, Oomnall, Qinmipe, acup nGinoib, mac Ouacli.
oa mac mic Gapcca, ap cfrio an cacha ceona,

Gcup an pf Ginmipe pilbp i pealbaib Searna.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuij ceo caoccarc a hochc. lap mbfich piche bliabain op
Gpinni pijjhe Do Diapmairc, mac pfp^upaCeppbeoil, DO ceap la hGob nOub,
mac Suibne, pi Dal nGpaibe, 05 T?aieh bice, hi TTloij Line. Uuccab a cfno
50 Cluain mic Noip, 50 po habnachr innce, -\ po habnacc a colann hi
cComoepe.

1p in mbliabainpi po gabab an muipgelc .1. Ciban injean Gachach, mic

reception at Coleraine, also mentions this plain
in the following words : " Eodem in tempore
Conallus Episcopus Culerathin, collectis a populo
campi Eilni poene innumerabilibus xeniis, &c."
—Trias Thaum., p. 350. It should be here re-
marked that Colgan errs in placing this terri-
tory on the west side of the River Bann, which
he does in his note on this passage in Adamnan,
as follows : " Campus Elne priscis Magh Elne
videtur regio amcena et campestris, ex adversa
Bannei fluminis ripa, Culratheniaa Civitati ad-
jacens versus Occidentem, qua hodie vulgo Ma-
chaire, id est, planities vocatur." — Trias Thaum.,
p. '381, n. 106.

That this opinion of Colgan is erroneous is
clear from the passage above quoted from Tire-
chan, which places Eilniu on the east side of
the River Bann, and between it and the Bush.
It must, however, be confessed that the people
called Fir-Lii, or Lee, who were seated on the
west side of the River Bann in St. Patrick's time,
were driven from thence before the twelfth
century by the Kinel-Owen, and that this is
what led Colgan astray. But he should have
known that the church of Achadh Dubhthaigh,
now called Aghadowey, which all the martyro-
logies place in the plain of Magh-Lii, and which
retained its name in his own time, is on the west
side of the Baen.

k Aedh Dubh Adamnan mentions this fact,

and calls the slayer of the King : " Aidum cog-
nomento Nigrum, regio genere ortum, Cruthi-
nfum gente, &c. qui et Diermitium filium Cer-
buill totius Scotiffi Regnatorem Deo auctore
ordinatum, interfecerat." — Lib. i. c. 36 ; Trias
Thaum,, p. 346. See note on this Aedh Dubh,
under the year 592.

The death of King Diarmaid is entered under
the year 564, in the Annals of Ulster, as fol-
lows :

" A. D. 564. Occisio Diarmato mic Cearbhuill
mac h-Aed Dubh la Suibhne."

But by Tighernach under 565, which is the
true year :

"A. D. 565. Diapmmo mac Cepbaill oc-
cipup eye hi pKair 6ic a Hluij^me la h-Geo
nOuB mac SuiBne Qpaibe, pi Ulao.

" A. D. 565. Diarmaid mac Cerbhaill was
slain at Rath-bee in Magh- Line, by Aedh Dubh,
son of Suibhne Araidhe, King of Ulidia."

1 Rath-bee, in Magh-Line : L e. the Small Fort
in Moylinny, now Rathbeg, a townland in the
parish of Donegore, adjoining the parish of

Antrim, in the county of Antrim See Reeves's

Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down and Connor,
&c., p. 278. It adjoins another townland of
great celebrity in Irish history, now called
Rathmore, i. e. the Great Fort, anciently Rath-

553.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

201

They bore away hostages after conflict, thence westwards towards Cnuas-Nuach,

Fearghus, Domhnall, Ainmire, and Nainnidh, son of Duach.

The two sons of Mac Earca returned to the same battle,

And the king, Ainmire, returned into the possessions of [his father] Seadna.

The Age of Christ, 558. After Diarmaid, the son of Fearghus Cerrbheoil,
had been twenty years in sovereignty over Ireland, he was slain by Aedh Dubhk,
son of Suibhne, King of Dal-Araidhe, at Rath-beag, in Magh-Line1. His head
was brought to Cluain-mic-Noism, and interred there, and his body was interred
at Connor.

In this year was taken the Mermaid, i. e. Liban, the daughter of Eochaidh",

mor-Maighe-Line.

m Cluain-mic-Nois. — It is stated in the Annals
of Clonmacnoise, in which this battle is recorded
under the yedr 569, that the King had requested
before he expired that his head should be in-
terred at Clonmacnoise, the monastery of his
friend, St. Kieran. His body -was buried at
Connor, near the place where he was killed.
He left three distinguished sons: 1. Aedh-
Slaine, ancestor of nine monarchs of Ireland; 2.
Colman Mor, the ancestor of the Clann-Colman,
of whom there were seven monarchs; and 3. Col-
man Beag.

n Liban, the daughter ofEochaidh. — This Liban
is set down in the Irish Calendar of O'Clery, at
18th December, as a saint. Her capture as a
mermaid is set down in the Annals of Ulster
under the year 571: "Hie anno capta est in
Muirgheilt."

According to a wild legend in Leabhar-na-
hUidhri, this Liban was the daughter* of Eoch-
aidh, from whom Loch Eathach, or Lough
Neagh, was named, and who was drowned in
its eruption [A. D. 90], together with all his
children, except his daughter, Liban, and his
sons, Conaing and Curnan. The lady, Liban,
was preserved from the waters of Lough Neagh
for a full year, in her grianan, or boudoir,
under the lake. After this, at her own desire,

she was changed into a salmon, and continued
to traverse the seas till the time of St. Comh-
gall of Bangor. It happened that St. Comhgall
despatched Beoan, son of Innli, of Teach-Debeog,
to Rome, on a message to Pope Gregory
[Pope, A. D. 599-604] to receive order and
rule. When the crew of Beoan's currach were
at sea, they heard the celebration of angels be-
neath the boat. Liban, thereupon, addressed
them, and stated that she had been 300 years
under the sea, adding that she would proceed
westward and meet Beoan, that day twelve
months, at Inbher-OUarbha[Larne], whither the
saints of Dalaradia, with Comhgall, were to re-
sort. Beoan, on his return, related what had
occurred, and, at the stated time, the nets were
set, and Liban was caught in the net of Fergus
of Miliuc, upon which she was brought to land,
and crowds came to witness the sight, among
whom was the chief of Ui-Conaing. The right
to her being disputed by Comhgall, in whose ter-
ritory,— and Fergus, in whose net, — and Beoan,
in promise to whom, — she was taken, they
prayed for a heavenly decision ; and next day two
wild oxen came down from Carn-Airend; and, on
their being yoked to the chariot, on which she
was placed, they bore her to Teach-Dabeoc,
where she was baptized by Comhgall, with the
name Muirgen, i. e. born of the sea, or MuirgeiU,
D

202 awwaca Rio^hachca eiReanH. [559.

%

TTluipfoha, pop cpachc Ollapba, hi Un beoain, mic Inli, mpcaipe Comjaill
bfnochaip.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuicc ceo caoccac anaoi. Qn ceo bliabain Do Da mac
muipcfpcaich, mic TTluipeaDhais, i pijhe nGpeann .1. Oomnall i peapgup.
Cach ^abpa Lippe,i each Oumha Qichip, pianOomnall-) pia bpfpgup, pop
Laijmb, Dia nebpan.

Car J5ab'pa, 1 each Ourha Qcaip,
Qcbach ampa i ccfchcaip, Colju acup a acaip.
Cach ^abpa, ni each ouine na of cec
Qcbach piche 6 paolan, 6 Ctilell piche picec.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo peapccac. Qn Dapa bliabain DO Oorhnall -|
opeapgup. Dairiim Oaimhaipjjic, .1. Coipppe, Decc. Qp uaDapi6e na hQip-
51 alia.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo peapccac, a haon. lap mbeic cpf blia6na i pije
nGpeann DO Ooriinall ") opeapgup, Da mac Tlluipcfpcaij, mic TTluipeaboij
mic Gojain, mic Nell, po eccpac apaon.

Qoip Cpiopc, cfiij ceD peapccac a Do. Qn ceiD bliabain DGochaiD, mac
Oomnaill, mic TTiuipcfpcaij, i Do baooan, mac TTlhuipceapcaich, mic TTluip-
eaDaigh, i pijhe nGpeann.

Qoip Cpiopc, cui5 ceo peapcac acpf. S. TTiolaipi, abb Daiminnpi, Decc
an Dapa la Decc Do Sepcembep. lap mbeich Da blia&am i pighe nGpeann

i. e. traverser of the sea. Another name for her et Domhnall Victores." — Ann. Ult.

was Fuinchi. — See Eeeves's Antiquities of Down "A. D. 572. Vel hoc Bellum Gabhra Liphi

and Connor, fyc., pp. 377, 378. for Laighnin." — Ann. Ult.

" Ollarbha. — Now called the Larne, or Inver " A. D. 569. The battle of Gawra-Liffe was

River, which rises about four miles south-west given by the Lynstermen, where Fergus and

of the town of Larne, in the county of Antrim. King Donall were victors." — Ann. Glon.

See note d, under A. D. 285, p. 121, supra. q Dumha-Aichir — See note ', under the year

p Gabhra-Liffe. — This was situated somewhere 464, p. 146, supra.

on the River Liffey, but nothing has been yet ' Daimhin Damhairgil : i. e. the Little Silver

discovered to determine its exact position. In Ox. In the Life of St. Maidoc he is called

the Annals of Ulster this battle is entered under " Latine Bos et Hibernice Dearth seu Daimhin.''''

the year 565, and again under 572, and in the He is the ancestor of the Mac Mahons of Oirghi-

Annals of Clonmacnoise at 569 : alia, but not of all the septs of the Oirghialla.

"A. D. 565. Bellum Gabhre-Liphi. Fergus See Shirley's Account of the Territory or Domi-

559.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 203

son of Muireadh, on the strand of Ollarbha0, in the net of Beoan, son of Inli,
the fisherman of Comhgall of Beannchair.

The Age of Christ, -559. The first year of the two sons of Muircheartach,
son of Muireadhach, in the kingdom of Ireland, i. e. Domhnall and Fearghus.
The battle of Gabhra-Liffep, and the battle of Dumha-Aichirq, by Domhnall
and Fearghus, against the Leinstermen, of which was said :

The battle of Gabhra and the battle of Dumha-Achair,

Illustrious men fell in both, Colgu and his father.

The battle of Gabhra was not a battle [with the loss] of a man or two hundred ;

There fell twenty from Faelan, from Ailill twenty times twenty.

The Age of Christ, 560. The second year of Domhnall and Fearghus.
Daimhin Damhairgit1, i. e. Cairbre, died. From him are the Airghialla.

The Age of Christ, 561. After Domhnall and Fearghus8, the two sons of
Muircheartach, son of Muireadhach, son of Eoghan, son of Niall, had been three
years in the sovereignty of Ireland, they both died.

The Age of Christ, 562. The first year of Eochaidh, son of Domhnall, son
of Muircheartach, and of Baedan, son of Muircheartach, son of Muireadhach, in
the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 563. St. Molaisi, Abbot of Daimhinis*, died on the
twelfth of September. After Eochaidh and Baedan had been two years in

mow of Farney, p. 148 ; and Colgan's Trias Life of St. Aedan, quoted by Ussher (Primord,,

Thaum., p. 381, n. 6. p. 962), the name of this island is translated

'Domhnall and Fearghus The death of Bovis insula, and Bovium insula in a Life of St.

Domhnall is entered twice in the Annals of Aedus. St. Molaise, or Laissren, the patron of

Ulster, first at the year 565, and again at 572, this island, was the son of Nadfraech, and is to

but they contain no notice of the death of be distinguished from Molaise, or Laisren, of

Fearghus : Leighlin, who was son of Cairell. The Life of

"A. D. 565. -JforsDomhnaill^zYMuirchear- St. Aedan has the following notice of the

taig ic Erca, cui successit Ainmire mac Sedna." former :

" A. D. 572. Vel hie Bas Domhnaill ic Muir- " Beatissimus Lasreanus ad aquilonalem par-

cheartaig, ic Erca, cui successit Ainmire mac tern Hibernise exivit, et construxit clarissimum

Setnai." monasterium in Stagno Herne nomine Daimh-

* Daimhinis : i. e. Ox-island, now Devenish, inis, quod sonat Latine Bovis insula."
an island in Lough Erne, near the town of And the Life of St. Aedus : " Eegebat plures

Enniskillen, in the county of Fermanagh. In a monachos in insula posita in Stagno Erne,

2 D 2

204 aNNaca Rio^nacnca eiraeciNN. [564.

oGochaiDi Do baooan, copcpaoap la Cponan, coipeac Ciannachca ^

Goip Cpiopc, cuig ceo pfpccac a cfcaip. Qn ceo bliabam DO Ginmipe,
mac Seona, mic pfpgupa Cfnopooa, hi pijhe nGpeann.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuij ceo peapccac a cuig. Qn oapa bliaOam oCtinmipe.
Oeman, mac Caipill, picch Ulaoh, mic TTluipeaDoigh TTlumDeipcc, Do mapbao
la bachlachaib boipne. TTlupcoblach la Colman mbecc, mac Oiapmaca
mic pfpjupa Ceppbeoil, -\ la Conall, mac Comgaill, coipeac Oal RiaOa hi
Soil, i i nlle; co ccapopac eoala lomoa eipcib.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo peapccac a ye. lap mbeich rpi bliaona hi pije
nGpeann DQinmipe, mac Seona, copcaip la pfpjup, mac Nelline, Dia nebpao.

peimin an can pom boi pi, nip bo mfnnac nach oeclai,
Inoiu ap poipDep55 a If, la hQinmipe, mac Seacnai.

Qoif Cpiopc, cuij ceD peapccac a peachc. lap mbeich aon bliaDam hi
pijhe nGpeann DO baooan, mac Nmoeaoha, mic pfpgupa CfnDpooa, DO ceap
oc tern inn ech, i noebaib, lap an oa Comaome .1. Comaoine, mac Col main

quam Scoti nominant Daimhinis, i. e. Bovium
insulam."

The death of this saint is entered twice in
the Annals of Ulster, first under the year 563
(XT. com. 564), and again under 570.

u Cianachta- Glinne- Geimhin : i. e. the Race of
Cian of Gleann-Geimhin, which was the name
of the vale of the River Roe, near Dungiven, in
the county of Londonderry. The territory of
this tribe is now called the barony of Keenaght.
See note °, under A. D. 1197, p. 107. The
death of these joint monarchs is entered in the
Annals of Ulster under the year 571, thus:

"A. D. 571. Occisio da Ua Muirethaig .i.
Baetan . mac Muircheartaigh et Eochaidh mac
Domhnaill mic Muircheartaig mic Erca, tertio
anno regni sui. Cronan mac Tighernaig, ri Cian-
nachtse Glenna Gevin occisisor eorurn erat.

"A. D. 571. The killing of the two de-
scendants of Muireadhach, i. e. Baedan, son of
Muircheartach, and Eochaidh, son of Domhnall,

son of Muircheartach^ Mac Erca, in the third
year of their" [joint] " reign. Cronan, son of
Tighearnach, King of Cianachta of Gleann-
Geimhin, was their slayer."

"Ainmire. — O'Flaherty says that he succeeded
in the year 568.

1 Deman, son of Cairell. — "A. D. 571. Mors
Demain mic Cairill." — Ann. Ult.

y Boirenn: i. e. a rocky District. " &otpeano
.1. bopp-onn .1. cloc mop." — MS. T. C. D., H. 2.
15, p. 180. There are two townlands of this
name in the county of Down, one in the'parish
of Dromara, and the other in that of Cluain-
Dallain, or Clonallon. The latter is probably
the place here alluded to.

* Sol. — This island, which is now called Col, is
styled Colossa by Adamnan in his Vit. Columb.,
lib. i. c. 41, and lib. ii. c. 22.

" lie.'— Now Ila, or Islay. It is called Ilea
by Adamnan, lib. ii. c. 23, Trias Thaum., p. 355.
This expedition is noticed in the Annals of

564.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

205

the sovereignty of Ireland, they were slain by Cronan, chief of Cianachta-
Glinne-Gemhin".

The Age of Christ, 564. The first year of Ainmirew, son of Sedna, son of
Fearghus Ceannfhoda, in the sovereignty of Ireland.

The Age of Christ, 565. The second year of Ainmire. Deman, son of
Cairell*, King of Ulidia, son of Muireadhach Muindearg, was killed by the
shepherds of Boirenny. A sea fleet [was brought] by Colman Beg, son of
Diarmaid, son of Fearghus Cerrbheoil, and by Conall, son of Comhgall, chief
of Dal-Riada, to Solz and lie*, and they carried off many spoils from them.

The Age of Christ, 566. After Ainmire, son of Sednab, was three years in
the sovereignty of Ireland, he was slain by Fearghus, son of Nellin, of which

was said :

•

Feimhin, while he was kingc, was not a place without bravery,

To-day dark-red its aspect, [being set on fire] by Ainmire, son of Seadna.

The Age of Christ, 567. After Baedan, son of Ninnidh, son of Fearghus
Ceannfhoda, had been one year in the sovereignty of Ireland, he was slain at
Leim-an-eichd, in a battle, by the two Comains ; i. e. Comain, son of Colman Beg,

Ulster under the year 567, thus:

" Feacht i nlardomhain la Colman mBecc,
mac Diarmato, agus Conall mac Comgaill, i. e.
an expedition into lardomhan" [the Western
Isles] " by Colman Beg, son of Diarmaid, and
by Conall, son of ComgalL"

b Ainmire, son of Sedna. — The death of this
monarch is entered twice in the Annals of
Ulster, first under 568, which is the true year,
and again under 575, which is clearly a mistake.
In the Annals of Clonmacnoise it is entered
under 569, as follows :

" A. D. 569- Ainmire mac Setna, joynt King,
was slain by Fergus mac Nellyne, which Fergus
was soon after slain by Hugh mac Ainmireagh."
Adamnan calls him " Ainmerius filius Setni"
in lib. i. c. 7 ; and in lib. iii. c. 5, he writes the
name very correctly Ainmirech, in the genitive
form. In the Life of Gildas, published by the
Bollandists, p. 954, he is called Ainmericus :

" Eo tempore regnabat Ainmericus Rex per
totam Hiberniam, qui et ipse misit ad B. Gildam,
rogans ut ad se veniret."

c While he was king. — This is evidently quoted
from a poem on one of the kings of Munster
(probably Crimhthann Siebh), after whose death
Magh-Feimhean was laid waste with fire and
sword by the monarch Ainmire, son of Sedna.

* Leim-an-eich: i. e. the Horse-leap. There are
several places of this name in Ireland. Tliut
here referred to may be the place now called
Leim-an-eich-ruaidh, anglice Lenmaroy, near
Maghera, in the county of Londonderry. O' Fla-
herty places the accession of " Bcetanus filius
Ninnedii" in 571, and that of " Aidus Anmirei

films" in 572 Ogyyia, iii. c. 93. In the Annals

of Ulster his death is entered under the year
585, as follows :

" A. D. 585. Occisio Baetain mac Ninnedha,
filii Duach, filii Conaill, mic Fergusa Ceannfadn,

206

[568.

6icc, mic Cfpbaill, -| Comaoine, mac Libpene, mic lollanain, mic Cfpbaill.
Tpe corhaiple Colmain bice DO ponpac an gnfom hipm.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo peapccac a hochc. Qn ceo bliabam oQooh, mac
Qinmipech, op Gpinn. peapjap, mac Nelline, DO mapbab la hQo&, mac
Qinmipech, i noiojail a achap.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo peapcca a naoi. Qn oapa bliaoam DQo6. S. Oenna,
mac ua Laigipi, abb Cluana mic Noip, oecc. 8. Ice, 6jh 6 Cluain Cpfoail,
Decc an 15 lanuapn. Qp Di ba hainm TTlme.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo peachcmogac. Qn cpeap bliabain oQoDh.
S. TTloeinfnD, eppucc Cluana peapca bpfnainn, Decc an ceo la Do TTlapca.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo peachcmojac a haon. 8. bnenomn, ab 6ioppa,
Decc an naomaD la picfc DO Nouemben. Cach Cola pia piachna, mac 6ao-
Dam, mic Caipill, pop Oppaijpb i pop Glil), -] po meabaiD poppa. Cola
ainm maighe ecip Cluain pfpca TTlolua ~\ Saijip. Cach perhin pia Coipppe
mac Cperhcainn, pi Uluman, pop Colman becc, mac Oiapmaoa,-] po meabam
ap Colman.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuig ceD peachcmojac ao6. Qn cuicceaD blia&am DQoo.
Cach Doece, Dian hainm bealach peaoha, pia nQoD, mac Qmmipech, pop

regis Temro, qui uno anno regnavit. Cumaeine
mac Colmain. Big mic Diarmata, & Cumaeine mac
Libhren, filii Illannon, mic Cerbaill occiderunt
eum consilio Colmain .i. oc Leim ind eich."

"Mac UaLaighisi. — Dr. O' Conor says that this
family name is now O'Lacy, which involves a
double error, for Mac Ua Laighsi is not a family
name (for hereditary surnames were not esta-
blished so early as this period), and there is no
such name as O'Lacy in Ireland. There is Lacy
or De Lacy, but this name is not of Irish origin.
This writer is also wrong in saying that the
family of O'Laigisiorum is mentioned by Adam-
nan, lib. iii. c. 12.

' Cluain- Creadliail. — Now Killeedy, in the
south of the county of Limerick. — See note ',
under the year 546.

sMide : i. e. Mo Ide : i. e. Mea Ida — See Col-
gan's Acta SS., p. 71, n. 2. The churches called

Kilmeedy, in Munster, are named after this
virgin.

h Brenainn, Abbot of Birra — His death is en-
tered in the Annals of Ulster at the year 564,
and again at 571, which is the true year. It is
entered in the Annals of Clonmacnoise at 570.

' Tola — Now Tulla, in the parish of Kinnitty,
barony of Ballybritt, and King's County. In
the Annals of Clonmacnoise, at the year 569,
this battle is noticed as follows :

" A. D. 569. The battle of Talo and Fortalo,
the names of two fields between Elie and Ossorie,
which is between Clonfert-Molwa and Sayer,
where Fiachra mac Boydan was victor."

But in the Annals of Ulster it is entered first
under the year 572, and again under 573, and
said to have been fought "fra regionibus Cruithne"
which seems correct, as the victor was King of
Ulidia :

568.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

20"

son of Cearbhall, and Comain, son of Libren, son of Illadhan, son of Cearbhall.
[It was] at the instance of Colman Beg they perpetrated this deed.

The Age of Christ, 568. The first year of Aedh, son of Ainmire, over
Ireland. Fearghus, son of Nellin, was slain by Aedh, son of Ainmire, in revenge
of his father.

The Age of Christ, 569. The second year of Aedh. St. Oenna Mac Ua
Laighisi", Abbot of Cluain-mic-Nois, died. St. Ite, virgin, of Cluain-CreadhaiF,
died on the 15th of January. She was also called Mideg.

The Age of Christ, 570. The third year of Aedh. St. Maeineann, Bishop
of Cluain-fearta-Breanainn [Clonfert], died on the first of March.

The Age of Christ, 571. St. Breanainn, Abbot of Birrah, died on the
twenty-ninth day of November. The battle of Tola', by Fiachna, son of Baedan,
son of Cairell, against the [people of] Osraighe and Eile; and they were defeated.
Tola is the name of a plain [situated] between Cluain-fearta-Moluak and Saighir1.
The battle of Feimhin"1, by Cairbre, son of Creamhthann, King of Munster,
against Colman Beg, son of Diarmaid ; and Golman was defeated.

The Age of Christ, 572. The fifth year of Aedh. The battle of Doete,
which is called Bealach-feadha", by Aedh, son of Ainmire, against the men of

" A. D. 572. Bellum Tola & Fortola. i. e. no-
mina camporum etir Ele ocus Osraige, ocus etir
Cluain-ferta ocus Saiger."

" A. D. 573. Bellum Tola & Fortola in regioni-
bus Cruithne."

k Cluain-ferta- Molua. — " Et in ipso loco clara
civitas qua; vocatur Cluain-ferta-Molua, id est,
Latibulum mirabile S. Molvue (eo quod ipse in
sua vita multa miracula in ea fecit, et adhuc
gratia Dei per eum patrantur) in honore S. Mo-
luffi crevit : et ipsa est in confinio Laginensium
et Mumeniensium, inter regiones Osraigi et Hele
et Laiges." — Vila Moliue, quoted in Ussher's
Primord., p. 943. This place is now called Clon-
fertmulloe, alias Kyle, and is situated at the foot
of Slieve Bloom, in the barony of Upper Ossory,
in the Queen's County. — See Ogygia, iii. c. 81.

1 Saighir. — Now Serkieran, an old church
giving name to a parish in the barony of Bally-

britt, and King's County, and about four miles
east of Birr. — See Ussher's Primordia, pp. 791,
792, where this church is referred to as in the
territory of Eile (i. e. Ely O'Carroll), which an-
ciently belonged to Munster, but which was a
part of Leinster in Ussher's time.

™ Feimhin. — A plain comprised in the barony
of Iffa and Offa East, in the county of Tippe-
rary. — See note under A. M. 3506, p. 32. This
passage is given in the Annals of Ulster at the
year 572 : " A. D. 572. Bellum Feimin, in quo
victus est Colman Modicus" [Beg] Jilius Diar-
mata, et ipse evasit." It is also given at the year
592, in Doctor O'Conor's edition, p. 32, but not
in the Cod. Clarend., torn. 49.

° Bealach-feadha : i. e. the Woody Koad. This
place is called Bealach an Fheadha, in the pedi-
gree of O'Reilly, preserved in the Library of
Trinity College, Dublin, H. 1. 15, and now cor-

208

[573.

pfpaib niibe, ou in po cuic Colman bfcc, mac Oiapmaoa. Conall mac
Coriigaill, pi Oal Riarca, DO ecc. dp eip ibe po fobaip hi DO Choluim Cille.

Cloip Cpiopc, cuig ceo peachcmojac a cpf. Qn peipeab bliabam t>Clob.
bpfnainn, mac bpium, plaich Ceaeba, oecc.

Qoip Cpiopc, cms ceo peachcmojar a cfcaip. Q peachc odooh. TTlap-
b'ab Clooha, mic Gachach Uiopmchapna, la hUib bpiuin.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuij ceo peachcmo^ac ape. Ctn naorhab bliabain oQooh.
S. bpfnainn, abb Cluana pfpca bpfnainn, an i6lTlaii,i oo puaip bap a
nGanach oum, -] oo hablacab a copp a cCluain pepca bpenainn. Colman,
mac Coipppe, pi Laijfn, Decc ace Sliab TTlaipcce.

Qoip Cpiopr, cuicc ceo peachcmojac apeachr. Ctn oeachmab bliabain
oQob. 8. eppucc edicfn Cluana poca baican aba oecc an n pebpuapi.
S. Caipeach Dfpsain ogb, o Cluain boipeann, oecc 9 pebpuapi. peiblunib
pirin, abb Qpoa TDaca, oo ecc.

rectly anglicised Ballaghanea, and is the name
of a townland in the parish of Lurgan, barony
'of Castlerahin, and county of Cavan. In the
Annals of Clonmacnoise, ad ann. 587, Ma-
geoghegan conjectures that Colman Beg was
slain at Belanaha, near Mullingar, but he is
evidently wrong. In the Annals of Ulster this
battle is noticed at the year 586 :

" Bettum Droma-Ethe, in quo cecidit Colman
Beg mac Diarmata. Aed mac Aimirech victor
erat, in quo lello etiam cecidit Libren mac Ulan-
don mic Cearbaill." — Cod. Claren., torn. 49.

0 Of Dal-Riada : i.e. of Dal-Riada, in North
Britain. This entry is given in the Annals of
Ulster at the year 573, and in the Annals of
Cloumacnoise at 569, as follows :

" A. D. 573. Mors Conaill mic Comgaill anno
regni sui xvi., qui obtulit insulam le Columbce
Cille."— Ann. Ul.

*• A. D. 569- Conell, son of Cowgal, that gave
the island of Hugh" [i. e. lona] " to St. Co-
lumbkille, died in the 16th year of his reign, of
Dalriatye." — Ann. Clon. See also Colgan's Trias
Thaum., pp. 495, 496.

» Brenainn, son of Brian. — According to Colgan
(Trias Thaum., p. 507), this Brenainn, or"Bren-
danus princeps Teffise," granted Durrow to St.
Columbkille ; but see note y, under the year
556, supra, and note g, under 585, infra.

« Eochaidh Tirmcharna. — He was King of
Connaught. The Ui-Briuin were the descen-
dants of Brian, son of the Monarch, Eochaidh
Muighmheadhoin, and were Aedh's own tribe.
The killing of Aedh is entered in the Annals of
Ulster at the year 576. Under the year 573
the Annals of Ulster record: " Magna riiopoail,
i. e. Conventio Dromma Cheta" [now Daisy Hill,
near the River Roe, not far from Newtown
Limavaddy, in the county of Londonderry],
" in qua erant Colum Cille et Mac Ainmirech."
And the same Convention is noticed in the An-
nals of Clonmacnoise under the year 5 87, which
is nearer to the true date, which was 590. It
looks very strange that the Four Masters should
make no reference to this convention, which is
so celebrated in Irish history, and particularly
by Keating, in the reign of Aedh Mac Ainmi-
reach, and in the Lives of St. Columbkille, with

573.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

209

Meath, where fell Column Beg, son of Diarmaid. Conall, son of Comhgall,
King of Dal-Riada0, died. It was he that granted Hy [lona] to Colum Cille.

The Age of Christ, 573. The sixth year of Aedh. Breanainn, son of
Brian", chief of Teathbha [Teffia], died.

The Age of Christ, 574. The seventh year of Aedh. The killing of Aedh,
son of Eochaidh Tirmcharnaq, by the Ui-Briuin.

The Age of Christ, 576. The ninth year of Aedh. St Brenainnr, Abbot
of Cluain-ferta-Brenainn [Clonfert], died on the 16th of May. He died at
Eanach-duin8, and his body was interred at Cluain-ferta-Brenainn. Colman,
son of Cairbre, King of Leinster, died at Sliabh-Mairge'.

The Age of Christ, 577. The tenth year of Aedh. St. Ethchen, Bishop
of Cluain-foda Baetain-abhau, died on the llth of February. St. Caireach Dear-
gain, virgin, of Cluain-Boireannw, died on the 9th of February. Feidhlimidh
Finn1, Abbot of Ard-Macha, died.

which they were so well acquainted — See
O'Donnell's Vita Columbce, lib. i. c. 93; ii. 10,
110; iii. 1, 2, 4, 5. It is also mentioned by
Adamnan, in his Vita Columbce, under the name
of Dorsum Cette, lib. i. cc. 10, 49; lib. ii. c. 6;
Trias Thaum., pp. 341, 349, 352.

Under the year 575, which is totally omitted
by the Four Masters, the Annals of Ulster
record : " Scintilla Lepre, et abundantia nucum
inatidita. Bellum Teloco in quo cecidit Duncath
mac Conaill mic Comgaill et alii multi de sociis
JUiorum Gaurain."

The Annals of Clonmacnoise also record :
" Diseases of the Leporsie and knobbes," but
under the year 569, which is incorrect.

' St. Brenainn, — St. Brenainn, or Brendan, of
Clonfert, in the county of Galway, died at
Annadown, in the year 577, according to Ussher
(Index Chron. in Primord., p. 1145).— See also
Colgan's Ada Sanctorum, p. 193.

• Eanach-duin : i. e. the Moor or Marsh of the
Dun, or earthen Fort ; now Annadown, on the
east margin of Lough Corrib, in the barony of
Clare and county of Galway.

2

1 Slidbh-Mairge. — Now Slievemargy, or Slew-
marague, a barony in the south-east of the
Queen's County — See A. D. 1398.

" Cluain-fota Baetain-Abha : i. e. the Long
Lawn or Meadow of Baetain Abha, now Clonfad,
in the barony of Farbil, and county of West-
meath. — See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum, pp. 304-
306 ; Archdall's Monasticon Hib., p. 708 ; and
Obits and Martyrology of Christ Church, Dublin,
Introduction, p. liii.

" Cluain-Boireann — Now Cloonburren, on the
west side of the Shannon, in the parish of
Moore, barony of Moycarnan, and county of
Eoscommon, and nearly opposite Clonmacnoise.
That part of the River Shannon lying between
this church and Clonmacnoise was anciently
called Snamh-da-en. — See Buile Shuibhnt, MS.,
E. I. A., p. 141; and Colgan's Trias Thaum.,
p. 1 34, c. 33 ; Tribes and Customs ofHy-Many,
p. 82, note q, and the map to the same work.
St. Cairech of this place was the sister of St.
Eany, or Endeus, of Aran.

1 Feidhlimidh Finn. — He is set down as Pri-
mate in the list of the Archbishops of Armagh
E

210

[579.

Cloip Cjnopc, cuig ceo peachrmogac anaoi. Q Do Decc oQooh. Carh
Opoma mic Gapcca pia nCtooh, mac Ctinmipech, pop Cenel nGojain, Du in
po mapb'aD Colcca, mac OorhnaiU, mic TTluipceapcaij, mic muipeaOoijh.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo ochrmojac. Q cpi Decc oC[ooh. pfpgup Scannal,
pi TTlurhan, DO mapbab.

Qoip Cpiopr, cuig ceo ochemojac a haon. Q cfcaip Decc oGob. Cleoh,
mac Suibne, coipeac TTlaonmuighe, Decc.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cms ceo ochcmojac a DO. d cuij Decc DdoDh. pfpaDhach,
mac Ouaich, cijfpna Oppaige, Do mapbao la a rhuincip pfipin.

Ctoip Cpiopr, cuig ceo oclTcmojac acpi. Q pe Decc Ddooh. 8.
eppcop Opoma Cfchglaipe, Do ecc an 30 DO TTlhapca, -\ ape an
po pochaib Gill mbian.

Qoip Cpiopr, cuig ceD ochcmojac a cfraip. Q peachc Decc DQoD.
S. Naccaoime,abb Ufpe Da jlap, bpacaip Caoimjin, DO ecc an ceo la DO TTlan.

Qoip Cpiopr, cuig ceo ochcmojac a cuij. Qn rochcmab bliaDain Decc
. bpfnainn cijhfpna Ueacba, Decc. Qp eipi&e po ebbaip (piap an can

given in the Psalter of Cashel, published by
Colgan in Trias Thaum., p. 293; and in the
Bodleian MS., Laud. 610 — See Harris's edition
of Ware's Bishops, p. 38.

Under this year the Annals of Ulster record,
" Reversio Ulot de Eamania;" and the Annals
of Clonmacnoise notice the " departing of Ul-
stermen from Eawyn," under the year 580. It
would appear from a notice in the Annals of
Ulster, at the year 576, that the Ulta, or ancient
Ultonians of the race of Rury, made an effort
to recover their ancient fort of Emania in that
year, but that they were repulsed by Clann-
Colla, or Oirghialla :

" A. D. 576. Primum periculmn Ulot in Eu-
fania."

' Druim Mic Earca : i.e. the Ridge or Long Hill
of Mac Earca. — Not identified. This battle is
recorded in the Annals of Ulster at the years
579 and 580, and in the Annals of Clonmacnoise
at 580, as follows:

"A. D.579. -ZMttmDromaMicErcea&t'Colgu,
flius Domhnaill, filii Muirchertaig, mic Muire-
daig, mic Eogain cecidit." Aed mac Ainmirech
victor fuit."

" A. D. 580. Velhic Bdlum Droma Mic Erce."
— Ann. Ult.

" A. D. 580. The battle of Drom mac Eircke
was given, where Colga mac Donell mic Mur-
tough was slain, and Hugh mac Ainmireagh
was victor." — Ann. Clon.

' Fearghus Scannal — According to the Dub-
lin copy of the Annals of Innisfallen, " Feargus
Sganuil succeeded his brother Cairbre Crom as
King of Desmond, in 577, and died in 584. But
the testimony of these Annals, which were
largely interpolated in 1 760, should be received
with great caution.

" Maenmagh. — A level territory lying around
the town of Loughrea, in the county of Galway.
—See A. M. 3501, and note a, under A. D. 1235,
p. 276.

579-] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 211

The Age of Christ, 579. The twelfth year of Aedh. The battle of Druim
Mic Earca5', [was gained] by Aedh, son of Ainmire, over the Cinel-Eogain, where
was slain Colga, son of Domhnall, son of Muircheartach, son of Muireadhach.

The Age of Christ, 580. The thirteenth .year of Aedh. Fearghus Scan-
nalz, King of Munster, was slain.

The Age of Christ, 581. The fourteenth year of Aedh. Aedh, son of
Suibhne, chief of Maenmagh", died.

The Age of Christ, 582. The fifteenth year of Aedh. Fearadhach, son
of Duach, Lord of Osraigheb, was slain by his own people.

The Age of Christ, 583. The sixteenth year of Aedh. St. Fearghus,
Bishop of Druim-Leathglaise", died on the 30th of March ; and this was the
Fearghus who founded Cill mBiand.

The Age of Christ, 584. The seventeenth year of Aedh. StNathcheimhe,
Abbot of Tir-da-ghlase, the brother of Caeimhghinf, died on the first day of
May.

The Age of Christ, 585. The eighteenth year of Aedh. Breanainn*, Lord
of Teathbha [Teifia], died. It was he that had, some time before, granted

b Osraighe — Now anglice Ossory. This ter- * Tir-da-ghlas — Now Terryglass, a small vil-

ritory anciently comprised the whole of the lage in the barony of Lower Ormond, in the

present diocese so called See note ', under the county of Tipperary, and about four miles to

year 1 175. the north-west of Burrisokeane. In the Life of

" Druim-Leathglaise. — More generally called St. Fintan of Clonenagh, the situation of this

Dun-da-leath-ghlas: i.e. "arx duarum media- place is described as follows: "Jacet" [Colum

rum catenarum," now Downpatrick See Col- Mac Crimthainn] " in sua civitate quee dicitur

gan's Trias Thaum., p. 110, n. 39; also.4cta SS,, Tir-daglas in terra Mumoniae juxta fluvium

p. 193, where this passage is translated thus : Sinna." — See Ussher's Primord., p. 962, and

" 583. S. Fergussius, Episcopus Drom Leth- Lanigan's Eccl. Hist., vol. ii. p. 76. No part of

glassensis .i. Dunensis, obiit 30 Martii. Et ipse the ancient church of Terryglass now remains.
extruxit [Ecclesiani] de Kill-mbian." — Quat. Mag. ' Caeimhghin : i. e. St. Kevin of Glendalough,

d Cill mBian — This name, which might be in the county of Wicklow.

anglicised Kilbean or Kilmean, is now obsolete. fBreanainn. — See his death already mentioned

— See Reeves's Antiquities of Down and Connor, under the year 573. It is entered in the Annals

<J-e., p. 144. This bishop would appear to have of Clonmacnoise, under 588, as follows :
been a distinguished person, for his death, and " A. D. 588. Hugh mac Brenayn, King of the

the fact of his having founded Cill-mBian, are country of Teffa, that granted Dorowe to St.

mentioned in the Annals of Tighernach at 584, Columbkille, died. The same year there was

and in those of Ulster at 583 and 589. much frost and wind."

2 E2

212

[586.

pain) Ofpmagh DO Oia,i DO Colom Cille. baeccan, mac Caipill, pi Ula6,
Decc.

Qoip Cpiopc, ciiis ceo ochcmojac ape. Q naoi Decc DQoD. S. Daigh,
eppcop, mac Caipill, Decc an 18 Qugupc. peiDlimiD, mac Uijfpnaij, pi
TTluman, Decc. Cac TTloijhe Ochcaip pia mbpan Oub, mac Gachach, pop
Uib Nell ipm cealai j op Cluain Conaipe a nofp.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceD ochcmojac apeachc. Qn pichfcmaD blia&ajn
DQoD. S. Caoplan, eppcop Qpoa TTlacha, Decc, an cfcparhaD la picfc Do
TTlhapca. S. Seanach, eppcop 6 Cluain lopaipo, Decc.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuij ceD ochcmojac a hochc. Q haon picheac oQoDh.
S. Qooh, mac bpicc, eppcop 6 Gill Qip, i TTli&e, Decc 10 Do Nouembep.
Lujhaib Lip moip Decc.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo ochcmojac anaoi. Q DO picheac DQooh. 8. TTlac-
mpe, abb Cluana mic Noip, ppi pe pe mblia&an, Decc, ~[ a ecc an 13 DO
mi lun.

^Dearmhagh: i.e. Campus rdborum (Bede, Hist,
lib. iii. o. 4), now Durrow, in the north of the
King's County. — See note ', under A. D. 1186,

P- 71.

' Baetan, son of C air ell. — His death is entered
in the Annals of Ulster under the year 580, and
again under 586, thus :

" A. D. 580. Mors Baetain mic Cairill."

" A. D. 586. Vel hie Mors Baetain mic Carill,
regis Ulad."

k Daigh, son of Cairell. — In the Irish Calen-
dar of O'Clery, at 18th August, he is called
Bishop of Inis-caein-Deagha, in Conaille Muir-
theimhne, now Inishkeen, in the county of
Louth, adjoining the county of Monaghan. —
See Colgan's Acta SS., pp. 348, 374. He was
the fourth in descent from Eoghan, or Owen,
the ancestor of the Kinel-Owen, and the person
from whose hands Mochta, of Louth, received
the viaticum. The Calendar of Cashel calls
him " faber lam in ferro quam in are, et scriba
insignis."

1 Feidhlimidh, son of Tighernach. — His death

is entered in the Annals of Ulster, at the year
589, as follows:

" A. D. 589. Mors Feidhlimthe, mic Tiger-
naigh, Regis Mumhan."

In the interpolated Dublin copy of the Annals
of Innisfallen he is made only King of Desmond,
[from 584 to 590], but this is one of Dr. O'Brien's
intentional falsifications, to detract from the an-
cient importance of the Eoganachts.

m Magh-Ochtair. — A plain in the barony of
Ikeathy and Uachtar-fhine or Oughteranny, in
the north of the county of Kildare.

",Cluain-Conaire: i. e. Conair<?s Lawn or Mea-
dow ; now Cloncurry, in the same barony. In
the Annals of Ulster this battle is noticed, under
the year 589, as follows :

" A. D. 589. Bellum Maighe Ochtair re mBran
Dubh, mac Eachach p°P Uibh Neill."

0 Caerlan. — He was Archbishop of Armagh,
" ex regione de O'Niallan oriundus," succeeded
Feidhlimidh in 578, and died in 588 — See Har-
ris's edition of Ware's Bishops, pp. 38, 39; and
Colgan's Acta SS., p. 193. In the Annals of

586.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

213

Dearmhaghh to God and to Colum Cille. Baetan, son of CairelP, King of
Ulidia, died.

The Age of Christ, 586. The nineteenth year of Aedli. St. Daigh, bishop,
son of Cairellk, died on the 18th of August. Feidhlimidh, son of Tighernach1,
King of Munster, died. The battle of Magh-Ochtair01 [was gained] by Bran
Dubh, son of Eochaidh, over the Ui-Neill, at the hill over Cluain-Conairen,
to the south.

The Age of Christ, 587. The twentieth year of Aedh. St. Caerlan0, Bi-
shop of Ard-Macha, died on the twenty-fourth day of March. St. Seanach,
Bishop of Cluain-Irairdp, died.

The Age of Christ, 588. St. Aedh, son of Breac, Bishop of Gill- Air", in
Meath, on the 10th of November. Lughaidh, of Lis-morr, died.

The Age of Christ, 589. The twenty-second year of Aedh. St. Macnise",
Abbot of Cluain-mic-Nois for a period of sixteen years, died on the thirteenth
of the month of June.

Clonmacnoise his death is entered under the
year 587.

T Cluain-Iraird, now Clonard, in the south-
west of the county of Meath.

' CHI-Air — NowKillare, an old church giving
name to a parish near the hill of Uisneach, in
the barony of Rathconrath, and county of West-
meath — Seenoteh, under A.D.I 184. InO'Clery's
Irish Calendar the festival of Aedh Mac Brie is
marked at 10th November, thus :

" Qo6 mac 6pic 6pp. 6 Chill Qip i Hlioe,
•) 6 ShliaK Oiaj i oCip 6o^ame, i jCmel Co-
naill, Qoip Cpiopc an can po paoio a ppiopao
Do cum nime, 588."

" Aedh Mac Brie, Bishop of Killare, in Meath,
and of Sliabh Liag, in Tir-Boghaine, in Kinel-
Connell. The Age of Christ when he resigned
his spirit to heaven, 588."

The ruins of this saint's chapel are still to be
seen on the mountain of Slieveleague, in the ba-
rony of Banagh, and county of Donegal. The
death of Aedh filius Brie is also entered in the
Annals of Ulster, at the year 588. Colgan has

published an ancient Life of him at 28th Fe-
bruary. He was also the founder and patron
of Eathhugh, near Kilbeggan, in Westmeath.

' Lis-mor : i. e. Atrium magnum. Now Lis-
more, in the county of Waterford, where St.
Carthach, or Mochuda, of Eathain, formed a
great religious establishment about the year
633 ; but there seems to have been a church
there at an earlier period. Tighernach records
the death of this Lughaidh, to whom he gives

the alias name of Moluoc, at the year 691 See

Colgan's Ada Sanctorum, p. 539-

• Macnise. — His death is entered in the An-
nals of Clonmacnoise, at the year 587, thus:

" A. D. 587. Mac Nissi, an Ulsterman, third
abbot of Clonvicknose, died in the 16th year of
his place."

His festival is entered in O'Clery's Irish Ca-
lendar at 1 3th June, in which it is remarked
that he was abbot of Clonmacnoise for sixteen
years, and that he died in 590, under which
year it is also recorded in the Annals of Ulster ;
but it appears, from certain criteria afforded by

214

[590..

doip Cpiopc, cuig ceDnochac. Ctn cpeap blianain pichfc Ddo6. Carh
euouino moip pia bpiacna, mac baecain, mic Caipill, mic UluipeaDoij
IDuinofipcc, pop ^epciDe, mac Ronain, cijfpna Ciannachca. Clp Do pin Do
paioheaoh,

Qn peachc nolle Do peja pian mic baocain i mbpfja,
biaiD Ciarmachca i ppouc nf bac poicpi DO pouc.

Seanchan, mac Colman moip, DO mapb'ab. 8. ^P1©"01!1 t>eloip DO oiponeab
a jcacaoip q a gcorhapbup pfoaip appeal Dia aimbeoin.

Ctoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo nochac a haon. Ct cfraip pichfc oQooh. QoD
Cfpp, mac Colmain, mic Coipppe, pi Laijfn, Decc.

Ctoip Cpiopr, cuig ceo nochar a DO. Ct cuig pichfc oGoDh. Colum Cille,
mac peai&limib, appeal Ctlban, ceann cpabaiD epmoip Gpeann,-] Ctlban lap
bpaccpaicc, Decc ina ecclaip pfm in hi ino Ctlbam, mpp an ccuicceaD bliabam
cpiochao a oilirpe, oiDce Domnaish DO purDpab an 9 la lunn. Seachc
mbliaDna peachcmojacc a aoip uile an can po paoioh a ppiopaic Docum
mme, arhail apbfpap ipin pann,

Ueopa blia&na bai jan lep, Colum ma Ouibpeglep,

Luioh 50 haingli apa chachc, lap peachc mbliabna peaccmojac.

these Annals, that the true yearwas 591, namely,
" Defectio solis, i. e. mane tenebrosum." — See Art
de Ver. les Dates, tom. i. p. 63.

1 Eadan-mor: i. e. the Great Brow or Face of
a Hill. This was the name of a hill in East
Meath, but the name is now obsolete. It may
have been the ancient name of Edenrath, near
Navan — See Inquisitions, Lagenia, Meath 6,
Jac. I. This entry is given in the Annals of
Ulster under the year 593, thus :

" A. D. 593. Bdlum Gerrtide, ri Ciannachte
oc Eudonn mor ro meabhaidh. Fiaehna mac
Baetain, mic Cairill, mic Muiredaig Muinderg,
victor erat."

u Cianachta: i. e. Cianachta-Breagh, in the
east of Meath.

" Seanchan. — This agrees with the Annals of
Clonmacnoise.

* Gregory of the Golden Mouth. — Dr. O'Conor
translates this, " S. Gregorius valde sapiens ;"
but this is one of his innumerable childish mis-
takes, which are beneath criticism. The me-
mory of this Pope was anciently much revered
in Ireland, and he was honoured with the title
of Beloir, i. e. of the Golden Mouth, as we learn
from Cummianus, in his letter to Segienus,
abbot of lona, on the Paschal controversy :

" Quid plura? Ad Gregorii Papse, urbis
Romse Episcopi (a nobis in commune suscepti,
et oris aurei appellatione donati) verba me con-
verti." — Ussher's Sylloffe, first edition, p. 31 ;
Second edition, p. 21, line 20.

The Irish held the memory of this Pope in
such veneration that their genealogists, finding
that there were some doubts as to his genealogy,
had no scruple to engraft him on the royal stem

590.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

215

The Age of Christ, 590. The twenty-third year of Aedh. The battle of
Eadan-mor' [was gained] by Fiachna, son of Baedan, son of Cairell, son of
Muireadhach Muindearg, over Gerthidhe, son of Ronan, Lord of Cianachta",
of which was said :

On the other occasion, when the soldiers of Baedan shall go into Breagh,
The Cianachta shall be on the alert, they shall not be the next to the shot.

Seanchanw, son of Colman Mor, was slain. St. Gregory of the Golden Mouth1
was appointed to the chair and successorship of Peter the Apostle, against his
will.

The Age of Christ, 591. The twenty-fourth year of Aedh. Aedh Cerr,
son of Colman, son of Cairbre, King of Leinster, died.

The Age of Christ, 592. The twenty-fifth year of Aedh. Colum Cille'',
son of Feidhlimidh, apostle of Alba [Scotland], head of the piety of the most
part of Ireland and Alba, [next] after Patrick, died in his own church in Hy,
in Alba, after the thirty-fifth year of his pilgrimage, on Sunday night precisely,
the 9th day of June. Seventy-seven years was his whole age when he resigned
his spirit to heaven, as is said in this quatrain :

Three years without light was Colum in his Duibh-regles" ;

He went to the angels from his body, after seven years and seventy.

of Conaire II., the ancestor of the O'Falvys,
O'Connells, and other families. His pedigree is
given as follows by the O'Clerys in their Ge-
nealogies of the Irish Saints :

" Gregory of Rome, son of Gormalta, son of
Connla, son of Arda, son of Dathi, son of Core,
son of Conn, son of Cormac, son of Core
Duibhne" [the ancestor of the Corca Duibhne, in
Kerry], " son of Cairbre Muse, son of Conaire."

The Four Masters have given the accession
of this Pope under the true year. Gregory was
made Pope on the 13th of September, which
was Sunday, in the year 590, and died on the
12th of March, 604, having sat thirteen years,
six months, and ten days. — See Art de Ver. les
Dates, torn. i. p. 245.

' Colum Cille — His death is entered in the
Annals of Ulster, under the year 594, as follows:

" A. D. 594. Quies Coluim Cille u. Idus Junii,
anno etatis sue Ixxvi."

It is entered in the Annals of Clonmacnoise,
under 590, thus :

" A. D. 590. St. Columbkill died at" [on]
" Whitsuntide eave, the 5th of the Ides of June,
in the island of Hugh" [Hy or lona], " in the
35th year of his pilgrimmage and banishment
into Scotland, and in the 77th year of his age,
as he was saying his prayers in the church of
that isle, with all his moncks about him."

' Duibh-reyles — This was the name of a church

erected by St. Columbkille at Derry See

note c, under A. D. 1173.

cn-watd Rioshachca eiReaww.

[593.

Dalian popgaill oijcic hoc DO bap Choluim Cille :

Ip leijep leja jan lep, ip oebail pmepa yie pmuaip,
Ip abpan pe cpuir jan ceip, pinoe beip ap napgain uaip.

Qo6 Dub, mac Suibne, pi Ulab, Do mapba6 la Piaca, mac baeccain.
dp lap an Gooli nDub pin copchaip Diapmairc mac Ceapbaill.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo nochac acpf. Q pe pichfc DQooh. Cumapcacb,
mac Clooha, mic dinmipecli, DO mapbab la bpan Dub, mac Gachach, i nDun
bucac, arhail ap bepc naom QeDan eppcop :

^uiDim in coimoiu comachcach, i pail Cille panoaipech
TCobpi Diojail Comupccaij, juin Cfooha mic Q;nmipech.

• Dalian Forgaill. — He was a disciple of St.
Columbkille, and wrote the poem called Amhra
Choluim Cille in praise of that saint. — Ada
Sanctorum, p. 203 ; and O'Reilly's Irish Writers,
p. 39.

b The Ceis. — Irish glossographers are not
agreed on the meaning of this word. The most
rational of all the conjectures they hare left us
is, that it was the name of the cpom ceo, or
bass string of the harp. Another writer states
that it was the name of a small harp which ac-
companied a large harp. " Ceip amm Do cpuic
bic bip i comaicecccpuice mope." — SeeAmhra
Choluim Cille, in Leabhar-na-hUidhri.

0 Aedh Dubh : i. e. Hugh the Black. His death
is entered in the Annals of Ulster, at the year
587, as follows :

" A. D. 587- Nix magna, et jugulatio Aedha
Nigri mic Suibne in nave.'1''

This event is recorded by Adamnan in his
Vita Columbo3, lib. i. c. 36, where he gives the
following character of this slayer of King Diar-
maid :

" Findchanus Aidum cognomento Nigrum,
Regio genere ortum Cruthinium gente,de Scotia"
[i. e. Hibernia] " ad Britanniam sub clericatus
habitu secum adduxit, qui Aidus, valde sangui-
narius homo, et multorum fuerat trucidator, et

Diermitium filium Cerbuill totius Scotiae Reg-
natorem, Deo auctore ordinatum interfecerat,
&c. Ordinatus vero indebite, dolo lancea trans-
fixus, de prora ratis in aquam lapsus stagneam
disperiit."

Colgan, in a note on this passage, in his edi-
tion of Adamnan's Vit. Colunib., says, Trial
Thaum., p. 379, that three anonymous authors
who wrote on the Kings of Ulster, and whose
works he had in his possession, state that this
Aedh Dubh ("Aidus Niger, films Suibnei, Rex
Ultoniae, qui Diermitium, filium Kervalli, inte-
remit") was slain by the Crutheni in a ship.

d Dun-Bucat. — Now Dunboyke, a townland
containing the remains of a dun, or earthen fort,
and a grave-yard, in the parish of Hollywood,
barony of Lower Talbotstown, and county of
Wicklow. In the Annals of Ulster the death
of this Cumasgach is entered under the year
596, thus :

" A. D. 596. Occisio Cumasgaidh, mic Aeda,
la Bran Dubh mac nEchach i nDun-Buchat."

According to the ancient historical tract
called the Borumha-Laighean, this Cumascach
set out on his royal, free-quarter, juvenile visi-
tation of Ireland, on which he was resolved to
have the wife of every king or chieftain in Ire-
land for a night! He first set out for Leinster,

.593.] ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND. 217

Dalian Forgaill3 composed this on the death of Colum Cille :

Like the cure of a physician without light, like the separation of marrow from

the bone,
Like a song to a harp without the Ceis\ are we after being deprived of our

noble.

Aedh Dubhc, son of Suibhne, King of Ulidia, was slain by Fiachna, son of
Baedan. It was by this Aedh Dubh Diarmaid Mac Cearbhaill had been slain.

The Age of Christ, 593. The twenty-sixth year of Aedh. Cumuscach,
son of Aedh, son of Ainmire, was slain by Bran Dubh, son of Eochaidh, at
Dun-Bucatd, as the Bishop St. Aedhan6 said :

I implore the powerful Lord, near Cill-Rannairechf,

It was he that took revenge of Comuscach, that slew Aedh mac Ainmirech.

with four battalions, and crossed the Kiver Righ
(the Rye Water), which was the boundary be-
tween that province and Meath. He advanced
to Bealach-Chonglais, now Baltinglas, where
Bran Dubh, King of Leinster, resided (at Rath-
bran, near Bantinglas). He sent for the wife
of Bran Dubh, who came to him, and requested
that he would not detain her until she had
exhibited her hospitality in distributing food
among his attendants. This request was granted ;
but the Queen of Leinster, instead of remaining
to wait on his hosts, fled, like an honest woman,
from her palace, and betook herself to the fast-
nesses of the lonely forest of Dun-Buichet.
After this the King of Leinster, attired in the
garb of a menial, set fire to the house in which
was the young libertine, Cumascach, who, dress-
ing himself in the clothes of one of his satirical
poets, climbed to the ridge-pole of the hole, and,
making his way out, escaped the flames, and fled
to Monaidh-Cumascaigh, at the end of the Green
of Cill-Rannairech [now Kilranelagh], where
Loichine Lonn, Erenagh of that church, and
ancestor of the family of O'Lonain, who disco-
vered who he was, cut off his head, and carried

2

it to Rath-Bran Duibh, where he presented it to
the King of Leinster, who, for this signal ser-
vice, granted perpetual freedom (or exemption
from custom or tribute) to the church of Cill-
Rannairech.

The Monarch Aedh Mac Ainmirech, hearing
of the fate of his son, marched an army into
Leinster, and fought the battle of Dunbolg.

f Aedhan: i. e. Maedhog, or Mogue, Bishop
of Ferns, who died in the year 624.

' Cill-Rannairech. — Now Kilranelagh, near
Baltinglass, in the county of Wicklow. Dr.
O'Conor translates Cill-Rannairech, " ecclesia ad
manifestandum supra omnes," but this is ab-
surd, for it is the name of a church even at the
present day, signifying cell or church of Ran-
naire, a man's name. In the ancient historical
tract called Borumha-Laighean two lines of this
quatrain are given thus: "5u|6im combib cu-
tnaccac, comp 10 cille Runnuipec." " I pray
the [al]mighty Lord, the principal incumbent
of Cill-Rannairech ;" and it is added that the
whole poem was written in another part of the
book : "Alibi in hoc libra scripsimus ;" but it
is uot now to be found in any of the copies.

-MS

UNWK.U

[594.

Curli Slobc Ciinr, In lllumum. pop llluiinxu limi'.. bpiru Inui pia TIHK
mbaoocnn. Ciobpame, mac Calgaij, oecc.

Goip Cpiopr, cuij; ceo nochae a cfraip. lap mbfidlpeacc mbliaDna picfc
i pijjhe n6peann oQooh, mac ainmipecb, mic Seacna, copcaip la bpan Oub,
mac Gachach, i ccarh Oinn bolcc i ILaijmb, ap nool D<3ot> DO rabach na

of Ireland had pitched his camp near Dun-
Buaice. Brau-Dubh despatched him thither
to request an armistice from the monarch until
he should muster his forces, 'when he would
either come upon terms of peace or give him
battle. The bishop went on this embassy, but
the monarch refused to comply with this re-
quest, and addressed his half-brother, Bishop
Aidau, iu insulting language, and the latter
resented it by predicting his doom. The mo-
narch then marched with his forces to Bealach
Dun-bolg, which evidently extended along Hol-
lywood Glen, and over the great, flat, rocky
surface called Lee Couuugh-ciumJi [Flag of the
broken Bones], and onward through Bearua-
ua-sciath. i. e. the Gap of the Shields, at Kil-
belat [Kilbaylet], where he pitched a fortified
camp in a strong position.

The Bishop Aidan returned to Bran-Dubh.
and informed him that the monarch of Ireland
was encamped at Kilbelat, and that he had
treated him with indignity. The King of Lein-
ster then asked the bishop what was best to be
done, as he had not time to muster his forces,
and the bishop advised him to have recourse to
a stratagem which he planned for him. and
which ultimately proved successful- Bran-Dubh
and the bishop then set out to reconnoitre the
royal camp, and they arrived, accompanied by
120 young heroes, on the side of Sliabh Xeach-
tain, a mountain which then received its pre-
sent name of Sliabh Oadaigh, and they per-
ceived what appeared to them to be numerous
docks of birds, of various colours, hovering
over the camp. These they soon recognised to
be the standarus and ensigns of the Ui-NeiU,

ow Slieve Gua, in theuorth-
of tl><> county of Wnterlord — Six- note1,
under A. M. 3790, p. 48, *itj>r»>.

k />Ktt-kty.> i. e. Fort of the Sacks. This place.
is described in the historic*! tract called the
> /.V>rw»iA1i-/.<i»jAf\»H, as situated to the south of
Puu-Buehat [now Dnnboyke, noar Hollywood.
in the county of Wk-klow], not far from a ohxuxh
called Cill-Belat, now Kilbaylot, near Ponard,
in the same county. The following is a brief
outline of the account of the battle of the road
or pass of Dun-bolg, as given, vrith varieties of
most curious fabulous details, in this ancient
historical story.

When the monarch Aedh, son of Aininirw,
heard, at his palace of Aileaeh, in Ulster, that his
soli Coumscach had been killed at Dun-Buchau
he assembled the forces of I.esth-Chuinn. and
marchcvl at their head to the River Righe, on the
eoofiu«s of Meath and Leinster ; and proceeded
th«KV directly for the place where his s»>n had
been kilievl. and pitched his cunp at Bseth-
Kalxha. close to Ouu-Buaice. \Vheu Bran Dubh.
King of Leinstvr. who was stay ing at a place.
c*U«d Sokdhairv- [Skerk], in the south of U i-
Ceinus«kla«gh, heard of the monarvh's arriral
•with his artuy at the Righe. he mowd north-
wards ie* his principal tort of Rath-Brain Duibh
[now Rathbrau j, near Bealach Conghlais. or
Ralungkss. and {^ssevi ovvr Moiute*ch> Muin-
cki«k Uaimhn* [thelVeps}. Etar. Ard-Chvxillidh.
a»d Arvl-*uBre*«», and. «»ossinj the Rixvr Sliine

wnr Ifcft hwi «f Fe to Bea-
"MhACfcMgfcliKHere
fee was met by Bishop Aid**, the Monarch's halt"
r, who iutv>nued him that the Monarch

>~

AXXALS OF THE KDE6DOM OF IKELA5D.

Tie battle of SBdifcC**,
MLBOBoffiM
A^ of Christ,

[m» pin*) ow Ae
of Ca%aek, died,

* " •

n Ae JorertigBty of Irtiaod, bfe
of EodM*,m the battle of D^boig*. n

. -

.

.-. -

- -

220

[595.

boporha, -] Do Diojail a mic Chomupccoij; poppa. Uopcpacap apoile paop
clanna ipin each fin bealoig Ouin bolg, im 6ecc, mac Cuanach, cijfpna
Qipjiall. Gp DO bap Qoba Do pai&eao :

Q mbuac, pfpup an ronn ppi bpuach,

Qcpec pcela, cia pa pcic, Gooh, mac Qmmipeach po bich.

ben Qeoa cecinic.

6acop lonmume cpi caoib, ppip nach ppeipge aicfppach,
Uaoban caillcfn, caob Ufrhpa pcaob QoDa, mic Gmmipeaah.

Goip Cpiopc, cuij ceO nochac a cuij. On ceo bliabain DCtob Slaine, mac
mic Oiapmaca, mic pfpsupaCfppbeoil,-] DO Colman RimiD, i pije nGpeann.
S. baoicin, mac bpeanamn, abb lae Choloim Cille, Decc an 9 lume. Ctili-
chip, abb Cluana mic Noip, Decc.

for the monarch's camp. When the Oirghialla,
who were posted at Bun-Aife, heard the din and
the tumult of this host, — the snorting of the
horses and the lowing of the loaded oxen, — they
started to arms, and asked who were the party
advancing. The others made answer that they
were the calones of Leinster who were conveying
victuals for the entertainment jf the people of the
King of Ireland. The Oirghialla, on examining
the tops of the hampers, felt the dressed provi-
sions, and their king, Dubhduin or Beg mac
Cuanach, said, " they are telling the truth ; let
them pass." The Leinstermen advanced to the
centre of the monarch's camp, and there, on a
hill called ever since Candle-hill, they removed
the king's cauldron off the great candle, and its
light was seen far and wide. They were fol-
lowed by the Oirghialla, who wished to partake
of the King of Leinster's hospitality. " What
great light is this we see," said the monarch to
the leper. The leper replied : " the Leinstermen
have arrived with their provisions, and this is
their light." The stratagem was now effected.
Small bags, filled with stones, were fastened to
the tails of the wild horses, which were let
loose among the tents of the men of Ireland;

the oxen were disencumbered of their bur-
dens, and the Leinster soldiers issued from the
hampers, grasped their swords, raised their
shields, and prepared for fighting. The leper
also cast off his wooden, leg, and handled his
sword. The Kinel-Connell and Kinel-Owen,
perceiving that the camp was surprised, sprang
up, and, forming a rampart of spears and shields
around the monarch of Ireland, conveyed him
on his steed to Bearna-na-sciath. The leper,
Eon Kerr, pursued the monarch with a select
party of Leinstermen, and after much desperate
fighting unhorsed him, and cut off his head
on a flat rock called Lec-Comaigh-cnamh. He
emptied his wallet of the crumbs which he had
got in the royal pavilion, and put into it the head
of the monarch. He then passed unobserved in
the darkness of the night, from the confused
fight which ensued, into the wild recesses of
the mountain, where he remained till morning.
The Leinstermen routed the Ui-Neill and Oir-
ghialla with great carnage, and slew, among
others, Beg, the son of Cuanach, chief of Oir-
ghialla.

On the following day Ron Kerr, son of Dubh-
auach, chief of Imaile, presented BranDubh with

595.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

221

gone to exact the Borumha, and to avenge his son Comusgach upon them.
Some nobles fell in this battle of Bealach Duin-bolg, together with Beg, son of
Cuanach, Lord of Oirghialla. Of the death of Aedh was said :

At Buac, the wave buffets the brink,

News were heard, who, in weariness, slew Aedh, son of Ainmire.

The wife of Aedh1 cecinit :

•

Three sides were dear, from which to change is [affords] no hope,.

The side of Tailltin, the side of Teamhair, and the side of Aedh, son of Ainmire.

The Age of Christ, 595. The first year of Aedh Slainek, son of the son
of Diarmaid, son of Fearghus Cerrbheoil, and of Colman Rimidh, in the so-
vereignty of Ireland. St. Baeithin1, son of Brenainn, Abbot of la-Choluim Cille
[lona], died on the 9th of June. Ailithir01, Abbot of Cluain-mic-Nois, died.

the head of the monarch, Aedh, son of Ainmire ;
and he obtained from the king the privilege of
dining at the royal table, and his paternal in-
heritance free of tribute to him and his repre-
sentatives for ever. In the very ancient Life of
St. Aidan, or Maidocus, published by Colgan,
at 31st January, we find the following passage,
which very curiously agrees with this historical
tale :

"Iste [Brandub] vir astutissimus et valde
probus in militia erat, et agens astute, intravit
audaciter in castra inimicorum, et occidit ipsum
regem Hibernian, ,/Edum filium Ainmirech ; et
maxiinam casdem nobilium virorum totius Hi-
bernia? cum eo fecit." — Trias Thaum., p. 211.

The Annals of Ulster record this battle of
Dun-bolg under the year 597, and the Annals
of Tighernach under 598, which last is the true
year. Ussher states that after the fall of Aedh I.,
son of Ainmire, King of Ireland, in the battle
of Dunbolg, Brandubh, King of Leinster, is said
to have bestowed his seat at Ferns upon Aedan,
but also that he made it the metropolis of all
Leinster — Primordia, p. 965.

1 The wife of Aedh Written 6ean Oeoha

by Cucogry O'Clery in his copy of the Leabhar

Gabhala, p. 184. Dr. O'Conor translates this
" Beatus Aodha," in his edition of these Annals,
p. 178.

k Aedh Slaine, fyc. — The commencement of
the reign of these joint monarchs is recorded in
the Annals of Ulster at the year 597.

1 Baeithin.—" A. D. 597. Quies Baetini Abb
Ire."— Ann. Ult.

He was a distinguished scribe, and the near
relative and intimate companion of St. Columb-
kille. He was the son of Brenainn, who was son
of Muireadhach, who was St. Columbkille's uncle.
His principal church was Teach Baithaein, now
Taughboyne, in the barony of Raphoe, and
county of Donegal, where his festival was kept
on the 9th of June, which was also St. Columb-
kille's day. Ussher places his death in the year
598, but Colgan places it in 600, because he
finds that he lived four years after the death of
St. Columbkille, who died in 596. Adamnan
makes special mention of him in his Vita Co-
lumbce, lib. i. cc. 2, 23, and lib. iii. c. 4. It is
stated in the Annals of Clonmacnoise, A. D. 596,
that he died in the sixty-sixth year of his age.

m Ailithir — " A. D. 598. Ailitir, Abbas Cluana
mac Nois patisat." — Ann. UU.

222

[596-

Qoip Cpiopc, ciiig ceo nochac ape. Qn oapa blm6ain oClob Slaine, -] Do
Colman. S. Sniche, ogh 6 Cluam lech cfngaO, Decc, an naorhab la Do No-
uembep. Suibne, mac Colmain bice, cigfpna TTIioe, Do rhapbab la hGob
Slaine i mbpioarh.

Qoip Cpiopc, cuig ceo nochac apeachc. Qn cpeap bliaOain odob -j DO
Colman. bemennq 6pan Ouib im bpfjhaibh. bpenamn, mac Coipppe mic
pecine, cijfpna Ua TTlaine, oecc.

Cach Slfrhna TTlibe pia Colman I?imi6 pop Conall Cu, mac QoDha, mic
Qinmipeac, -] po meab'aiD pop Conall. Cach Guile caol pia bpiacna mac
baocain, pop piachna, mac Demain, agup po meabaib an each pop piachna
mac Oemain. Uaca, mac CtoDha, mic Gachach Uiopmcapna, pig Connachca,
Decc. GochaiD, mac Oiapmacca, eppcop -) abb Qpoa TTlaca, Decc.

" Sinche. — This name is more usually written
Sineach, in the nominative form. The memory
of this virgin is still venerated at Cill-Sinche,
now Kilshine, near Navan, in East Meath, and
at Teach-Sinche, now Taughshinny, near Bal-
lymahon, in the county of Longford. The lat-
ter is probably the place called Cluain leththen-
gadh in the text.

" Bri-damh: i. e. the Hill of the Oxen, which
was the name of a hill over a stream called
Suainiu, in the parish and barony of Geshill,
King's County. — See note % under A. M. 3501,
p. 28, supra. Dr. O'Conor translates this as
follows :

" Suibneus filius Colmanni Parvi Princeps
Midi® occisus per Aodhum Slanensem tyran-
nice."

But tyrannice is incorrect, as Dr. O'Conor
might have learned from Colgan, who trans-
lates it thus :

" Anno Christ! 596. Subneus filius Colmani
seu Columbani cognomento parvi" (Magni ut
reor rectius) " Princeps Media;, interfectus est
per Aidum Slane in loco qui Brig-dham appel-
latur."— Trias Thaum., p. 376, n. 54.

This entry is given in the Annals of Ulster
at the year 599, and in the Annals of Clonmac-

noise at 597, as follows :

" A. D. 599. Jugulatio Suibne, mic Colmain
Moir, mic Diarmata Derg, mic Fergusa Cer-
bheoil, mic Conaill Cremthaine, mic Neill Nai-
giallaig, la hAed Slaine, ic Bridam for Suainiu
i. e. rivulus."

" A. D. 599. The killing of Suibhne, son of
Colman Mor, son of Diarrnaid Derg, son of
Fearghus Cerbheoil, son of Conall Cremhthaine,
son of Niall of the Nine -Hostages, by Aedh
Slaine, at Bri-damh, over the Suainiu, a stream."
— Ann. Ult.

" A. D. 597. Swyne mac Colman was killed
by King Hugh Slane, at the river called Swa-
niou." — Ann. Clon.

Adamnan has a distinct notice of the killing
of this Suibhne by the King Aedh Slaine, in
his Vita Columb., lib. i. c. 14, where he says
that St. Columbkille had forewarned him not to
be guilty of fratricide, for that if he should his
reign would be brief. His words are as fol-
lows :

" Prophetia beati viri de filio Dermitii Eegis,
qui Aidus Slane lingua nominatus est Scotica.

" Alio in tempore, cum vir beatus in Scotia
per aliquot demoraretur dies, ad supradictum
Aidum ad se venientem, sic prophetice locutus,

596.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

223

The Age of Christ, 596. The second year of Aedh Slaine and of Colman.
St. Sinche", virgin, of Cluain-leththeangadh, died on the ninth day of November.
Suibhne, son of Colman Beg, Lord of Heath, was slain by Aedh Slaine, at Bri-
darnh0.

The Age of Christ, 597. The third year of Aedh and Colman. The sword-
blows" of Bran Dubh in Breagh. Brenainn, son of Cairbreq, son of Fechine,
Lord of Ui-Maine, died.

The battle of Sleamhain1', in Meath, [was fought] by Colman Bimidh against
Conall Cu8, son of Aedh, son of Ainmire ; and Conall was defeated. The battle
of Cuil-Cael*, by Fiachna, son of Basdan, against Fiachna, son of Deman. ; and
the battle was gained against Fiachna, son of Deman. Uata", son of Aedh, son
of Eochaidh Tirmcharna, King of Connaught, died. Eochaidh, son of Diar-
maidw, Bishop and Abbot of Ard-Macha [Armagh], died.

ait ; Prsecavere debes, fill ne tibi a Deo totius
Iberniae Regni prasrogatiuam Monarchies prse-
destinatam parricidali faciente peccato amittas :
narn si quandoque illud commiseris, non toto
Patris Eegno, sed eius aliqua parte in gente
tua, breui frueris tempore. Qua? verba Sancti
sic sunt expleta secundiim eius vaticinationem :
nam post Suibneum filium Columbani dolo ab
eo interfectum, non plus (vt fertur) quam qua-
tuor annis et tribus mensibus regni concessa
potitus est parte." — See death of Aedh Slaine,
A. D. 600.

p Sword-blows — This means that Bran Dubh,
King of Leinster, overran Bregia in East Meath
with the sword.

« Brenainn, son of Cairbre.—" A. D. 600.
Terre motus in Bairrchi. Mors Brendain mic
Coirpri mic Feichine. Sic invent in libra Cua-
nach." — Ann. Ult.

' Sleamhain Now Slewen, a townland near

Mullingar, in the county of Westmeath, now
divided into two parts, of which the larger is
called Slewenmore, and the smaller Slewenbeg.
See note q, under the year 492. See also the pub-
lished Inquisitions, Lagenia, Westmeath, No. 68,
Car. I. This battle is noticed in the Annals of

Ulster twice ; first at the year 600, and again
at 601 ; and in the Annals of Clonmacnoise at
601, as follows :

" A. D. 600. Bellum Sleune, et Bdlum Guile
coil."

"A. D. 601. Bellum in, quo Colman Rimed,
rex Generis Euguin victor erat et Conall Cuun
mac Aeda mic Ainmirech, fugitivus evasit."

" A. D. 601. The Battle of Sleawyn in Meath
was given, where King Colman Rivea was victor,
and Conall Cowe, son of King Hugh Ainmi-
reagh, put to flight." — Ann. Clon.

8 Conall Cu. — Colgan thinks that he was the
same as Conall Clogach, who insulted St. Co-
lumbkille at the Convention of Druim-Ceat —
See Trias Thaum., pp. 431, 452. '

1 Cuil-Cael: i. e. the Narrow Corner or Angle.
This place, which was situated either in the
county of Down or Antrim, is unknown to the
Editor.

u Uata, son of Aedh. — " A. D. 601. Mors
Huatach mac Aedo." — Ann. Ult.

* Eochaidh, son of Diarmaid. — According to
Ware, this prelate succeeded in 588, and died
in 598 — See Harris's edition of Ware's Bishops,
p. 39.

224

[598.

Cloip Cpiopc, cms ceo nochar a hochc. Qn cfrparhaD bliaDain t>Qo6 -|
oo Colman. 3. Camnech, abb QchaiD bo, 065 an 1 1 oOccobep lap mbfic
ceicpe bliabna ochrmojac ina beachaib. Cach Gachpoip i TYluipiupc pia
Colman coipech Cenel Coipppe pop TTlaolcochaijh, coipeac Ceneoil piach-
pach TTluipipce, i po meabaioh an each pin pop TTlaolcochaij.

Qoip Cpiopc, pe ceo. S. Comgall bfnocaip abb bfnocaip UlaD, Oecc,
an oeachriiaD la DO mi Tllan, lap mofic cao^a bliaoain cpi mf -\ oeich la i
naboame bfnocaip. Nochac bliaoain a aoip. 8. Colman, mac Cenrme, Decc.
S. Laippen, .1. ab TTlfna opoichic, Decc.

T Achadh-bo. — Translated " campulus bovis"
by Adamnan, in his Vita Columb., lib. ii. c. 31 ;
apud Colgan, Trias Thaum., p. 345 ; and " ager
bourn" in a Lii'e of St. Canice, quoted by Ussher,
Primord., p. 957- It is now anglicised Aghaboe,
and is a townland and parish in the barony of
Upper Ossory, in the Queen's County. In the
Annals of Ulster the death of St. Cainnech is
entered under the years 598 and 599 ; and in
the Annals of Clonmacnoise at 597, as fol-
lows :

" A. D. 598. Quies Cainig in Achaid bo, tit
Guana docet."

" A. D. 599. Quies Cainig Sancti, et BeUum
Saxonum in quo victus est Aed." — Ann. Ult.

" A. D. 597- Canneagh of Acha Boe, named
Saint Kenny, in the 84th year of his age, died."
— Ann. Clon.

This saint is mentioned by Adamnan in his
Vita Columb., lib. i. c. 4 ; and lib. iii. c. 21. —
See Ussher's Primordia, pp. 907, 957. In
O'Clery's Irish Calendar his festival is set down
under the 1 1 th of October, and it is stated
that his principal church was Achadh-bo, and
that he had another church at Cill-Righmonaidh
(now St. Andrews) in Alba. From this saint,
according to Archbishop Ussher, Primordia,
p. 957, the toWn of Kilkenny, which is at this
day pronounced in Irish Cill Chuinni j, i. e. cella
smefanum Canicii, Canice.'s cell or church, takes
its name. But Dr. Ledwich has attempted to

show, without any authority, that Kilkenny is
compounded of Kyle-ken-ui, which he interprets
wooded head near the river ; but his Irish and
translation are equally groundless ; and the
error is the more inexcusable in this writer, as
he had the grave authority of Ussher and others
to guide him. — See Lanigan's Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 202.

1 Eachros : i. e. the Headland or Promontory
of the Horses, now Aughris, a townland in
which formerly stood a priory, situated in the
north of the parish of Templeboy, barony of
Tireragh, and county of Sligo. — See Genealogies,
Tribes, $c., of Hy-Fiachrach, p. 138.

1 Huirisc : i. e. the Sea-plain, a district in
the barony of Tireragh, and county of Sligo,
extending from the River lascaigh [Easkey]
eastwards to the stream which flows into the
sea between the townlands of Ballyeskeen and
Dunnacoy — See Ordnance Map of the county
of Sligo, sheet 12. See also Genealogies, Tribes,
fyc., of Hy-Fiachrach, p. 257, note b, and the
map to the same work.

a Cinel- Cairbre. — These were the race of
Cairbre, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages,
Monarch of Ireland, who were at this period
seated in the barony of Carbury, and county of

Sligo, to which barony they gave name See

Genealogies, Tribes, fyc. of Hy-Fiachrach, p. 279,
line 1.

b Cinel-Fiachrach ofMuirisc. — These were the

598.]

ANNALS OF THE KINGDOM OF IRELAND.

225

The Age of Christ, 598. The fourth year of Aedh and Colman. St. Cain-
nech, Abbot of Achadh-box, died on the llth of October, after having been
eighty-four years in [this] life. The battle of Eachrosy, in Muirisc", by Colman,
chief of Cinel-Cairbre", against Maelcothaigh, chief of Cinel-Fiachrach, of Mui-
riscb; and the battle was gained over Maelcothaigh.

The Age of Christ, 600. St. Comhgall, of Beannchair, abbot of Beannchair-
Uladhc, died on the tenth day of the month of May, after having been thirty
years, three months, and ten days, in the abbacy of Bangor. His age -was
ninety years. St. Colman, son of Leinind, died. St. Laisren, abbot of Mena-
droichit", died.

inhabitants of the barony of Tir-Fhiachrach,
now Tireragh, in the county of Sligo.

'Beannchair- Uladh : i. e. Beannchair of Ulidia,
now Bangor, in the north-east of the county of
Down. The word Beannchair, which frequently
enters into the topographical names throughout
Ireland, signifies horns, peaks, or pointed hills
or rocks. The present place is said to have
derived its name from a vast number of cows'
horns, which were scattered about the plain
on one occasion that Breasal Bealach, King of
Leinster, encamped there, after having plun-
dered Scotland — See Reeves's Ecclesiastical An-
tiquities of Down and Connor, &c., p. 200.

For some account of St. Comhgall, who was
a disciple of St. Fintan of Clonenagh, and the
tutor of the celebrated Columbanus of Bobbio,
and the founder of the great monastery of
Beannchair, or Bangor, in Ard-Uladh (Ards, in
the county of Down), the reader is referred to
Ussher's Primordia, pp. 911, 956; Colgan's
Acta Sanctorum, pp. 73, 541 ; Archdall's Monas-
ticon Hiber., pp. 106-110; und Lanigan's Eccle-
siastical History of Ireland, vol. ii. pp. 60, 66,
et seq. Ware says that this place received its
name from " White Choir" which he thinks is
Banchor in Irish, but it is never so written by
the Irish Annalists (SeeTighernach, ad ann.558) ;
and, though Colgan and De Burgo seem to ap-
p